The Newcomer
by The Sixth Degree
Summary: Kisa/OC- Kisame thought it was just another recruitment mission. What he didn't realize was that it would change his life.
1. The Girl

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Really.**

* * *

**The Newcomer**

In a small clearing in the middle of the forest, a figure was stirring on the ground. The figure rose, shook its head, then looked around. Thoughts raced through their head.

_How did I get here? Where did I come from? Why am I naked? Why can't I see?_

The figure folded her arms over her bare chest, then turned her attention to her eyes. She lifted her hands to its eyes, only to discover that there was a band of cloth with what felt like a metal plate fixed to it tied over them. After removing the band of cloth, she still couldn't see. Upon lifting her hands to her eyes, she made a discovery that would have startled anyone- except her. _That's right, _she thought; _it's coming back now. _

She ran her fingers over the metal on the headband, felling the now-familiar, crossed-out symbol of the Hidden Mist Village. She contemplated that for a second, then ran her fingers through her black hair- yes, she remembered. She remembered seeing herself in mirrors in her childhood, when she could see. It had been so long ago…

She slowly got to her feet, remembering that she was naked. She felt around on the ground and after a few seconds discovered a rough cloak laying a few feet beside her. She pulled it on, then felt something heavy in the pocket. She pulled it out and "examined" it with her fingers. I was a belt, made of the same material as the cloak, and she grinned when she felt what was hanging on it by a few chains: two very familiar scrolls.

Satisfied, she tied the belt around her waist and turned to depart, but paused. She her memories had been returning, but the memory of her name was still hovering just beyond her reach. She thought harder, willing herself to remember.

_It started with… a T. No, an S. Yes, that's it. _

A handful of seconds later, it came to her. She smiled, then leapt into the forest, feeling the air rushing around the trees and other obstacles to avoid them. The whole time, her name was floating through her head, reassuring her that she did have a chance to exist, a chance to make a new life to replace the one she'd lost so long ago.

_Seyeon…_

* * *

Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, two more ninja were running across the ground. Their faces were hidden by their wide hats, but their identity was easy enough to guess due to their apparel: both wore black, red-lined cloaks adorned with red clouds.

"Itachi, why are we doing this again?" Kisame panted. Seeing as he was almost six and a half feet tall and he and Itachi had been running for more than two days now, he considered it quite an achievement to even be alive at this point.

Itachi was obviously not as tired as Kisame, but even the patented "Uchiha Emotionless Expression" was starting to slip from his face "I told you, Kisame" he said patiently "The Akatsuki is being stretched rather thin member-wise. Even though we managed to resurrect Kakuzu with Orochimaru's jutsu and he stitched Hidan back together, we still lost Deidara. So, now we have to find a replacement." He paused. "Either willing or unwilling".

Kisame grinned at the thought of maybe being able to do a bit of "physical convincing" (as he called it), and replied "Fine then. But remember: if I die of fatigue, you'll have two members to replace" Itachi couldn't help but smile slightly at his partner, then the two fell into silence as they continued. For the next few minutes, nothing of interest happened.

Suddenly, Kisame began to sense a new chakra signature coming towards them. He turned to Itachi, who simply signaled for him to stop. The two Akatsuki slowed their pace before concealing themselves behind a low cliff face and masking their chakra.

"Itachi?..." Kisame began uncertainly, but his partner held up his hand to be silent. As they looked towards the clearing, Kisame was anticipating some Black Ops ninja to leap out of the trees, so he smiled in anticipation. The reality, little did he know, would be very different. And it would wind up changing his life.

* * *

Seyeon dropped to the forest floor in the middle of a clearing, unaware of the two ninja watching her. Kisame was a bit disappointed. _A girl? And why is she wearing her headband over her eyes? _Suddenly, the girl stopped panting and turned towards them. Kisame surveyed her face, and realized with a shock that her skin was blue. Blue! _Didn't see that coming _he thought. He saw a scratched Mist headband over her eyes and four red trails leading from the band to her chin. _Some kind of face paint? _He wondered. Suddenly, to his shock, she spoke. "You may as well come out. I can hear you breathing"

Kisame was still reeling with shock at those words when Itachi climbed out from behind the rock. "And who are you?" he asked in a quiet but dangerous tone. The girl just smiled. "I think I'm the one who should be asking that" Itachi's eyes narrowed, and Kisame stepped out too. After all, the girl had pretty much guaranteed her execution by talking to Itachi that way, so he saw no reason why he shouldn't get in on it.

Itachi appeared to be thinking along the same lines. His arms moved almost too fast to see, and a flurry of shuriken flew at her like bullets. She just grinned and clutched something attached to her belt. Then, there was a puff of smoke and her form was obstructed. The shuriken flew into the cloud, and Kisame waited for the telltale sounds of metal piercing flesh. They never came.

Instead, he heard a series of metallic clangs, which surprised him. The smoke cleared, and the Akatsuki were greeted by the shocking sight of the girl crouched on the ground, surrounded by fallen shuriken, holding a black scythe. Kisame realized that she must have summoned the scythe, but how did she block every single shuriken without being able to see?

The ex-Mist nin hated to admit it, but he was starting to respect this girl. And she certainly was nice to look at… _Stop it, _he scolded himself. Itachi, meanwhile was staring at the ninja with anger in his Sharingan eyes. _Probably because he can't make eye contact. _Kisame thought. He was obviously correct, because Itachi looked the girl in the eye seconds later. "Why don't you uncover your eyes, girl?" he asked, his own narrowing even further. The girl smiled and responded, "Well, first of all, my name is Seyeon, and secondly…" She seemed to think it over, then turned back to Itachi "Sure, why not?" She reached up to the knot at the back of her head and pulled it undone. Kisame had to stifle a gasp, and even Itachi's eyes widened at the sight of what was underneath the headband.

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**I'm really sorry, but I've always wanted to do that. Oh, and I have posted a picture of Seyeon on deviantART. Here's the URL:**

**http:// nitsudwerdnaetihw .deviantart .com /art /Seyeon –Coloured – 133853012**

**p.s. paste it in your browser then get rid of the spaces**

'**Til next time!**

**___________(˜˜˜||˜˜˜˜||˜˜˜˜˜ _∏_______  
l ---------____.`=====.-.~:________\___|================[oo] |||||)  
|_|||___/___/_/ |_|_|_|``(o)----------**

**SNIPED!**


	2. A Proposition And An Informal Checkout

**Say it with me: I don't own Naruto**

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_The surprises are coming way too fast today _Kisame thought, staring at the mysterious kunoichi's eyes. Or rather, where her eyes should have been.

On her face, a bit above and to either side of her nose, was a pair of gaping black holes. Kisame swallowed, realizing that those trails of red leading down her face definitely weren't face paint.

_Bloodstains._

Itachi straightened slightly, and there was no mistaking the fury in his eyes as he stared at her. She simply smiled. "Aww, is Itachi mad because his special eyes won't help him now?" Kisame couldn't help but smirk at this, and was extremely glad that his partner didn't see.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the girl erupted, and two of Itachi's shadow clones leapt out of the ground, charging at her. The kunoichi effortlessly cut them both down, but suddenly her face went from smiling to shock. At first Kisame couldn't see why, but then he saw the tip of Itachi's kunai protruding from her chest. Kisame waited for her to perform a substitution jutsu, but no cloud of smoke issued forth, and Itachi simply pushed her unmoving form forward.

"Itachi!" the shark nin shouted, running towards the falling ninja. Itachi looked at him with surprised anger. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked in his quietest, deadliest voice as Kisame caught the girls limp form.

"She's coming with us" This response brought Itachi's eyes shooting up to his hairline, but Kisame was obviously completely serious.

"Why?"

"You said it yourself: we're out on a recruitment mission. She blocked every single shuriken you threw at her, and _without eyes_ might I add. Most people who have two eyes couldn't do that"

"So?"

"She obviously has skill, and that's exactly what our leader is looking for. So, I figured 'Why Not?' "

Itachi stopped and studied Kisame's face, then smirked. "You wouldn't happen to have any feelings for her, would you?" Kisame jumped. "O-of course not! Why would you ask?"

Itachi just knowingly shook his head and began walking away "Fine- but I have three conditions. Number one- you tell Leader that this was all your idea. Number two- She does not associate with me in any way. And number three" he paused, then smirked. "You have to carry her"

* * *

Seyeon was vaguely aware that she was gaining consciousness, so she sat up lazily and yawned. She felt the bad under her, smelled the chemical laced air, and noticed the thin robe she was wearing- all signs pointed to a hospital as her most likely location. She turned towards the sound of a door opening deduced that it was a nurse due to the fact that no one would be coming to see her.

"Oh good, you're awake" the nurse said briskly- not impolitely, but it was obvious that she had other things to take care of. "We've patched up the wound in your chest, but I'm afraid your eyes were beyond our skills to heal." If Seyeon had them, she would have rolled her eyes. _Really? I had no idea eyes couldn't grow back. _"Oh, and the tall man who brought you here said he wanted you to know that he had a proposition for you" The nurses last sentence caught Seyeon by surprise. "Wait… the tall man who brought me here? Could you describe him?"

"Well… he was, as I said, very tall. Easily six feet tall. He had something large attached to his back, blue skin, and navy blue hair. Oh, and he had a companion who was much shorter with black hair and strange eyes."

_Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha_ Seyeon thought. "And they had a proposition for me?"

"Yes, but he didn't explain what. Just that if you wanted to go through with it, to meet them at what he called the meeting cliff. Do you have any idea what he might want?"

Seyeon had an idea, but it wasn't something to be discussing with a nurse. Or anyone, really. "No idea" she fibbed. Behind her, she was feeling around for her cloak and belt. Finally feeling the coarse fabric, she gripped it tightly and mentally prepared herself.

* * *

Kisame and Itachi were crouched in the trees, overlooking the cliff face were they hid from Seyeon. They had been there for almost two hours, and Itachi was clearly getting impatient.

"Kisame, let's go. She's not coming"

"She will. I'm sure of it"

Itachi groaned and shook his head. "I'll give her five more minutes. If she's not here by then, we leave" Kisame looked out over the trees towards the village where they had taken the girl- Seyeon- and reluctantly nodded.

_Come on, kid…_

* * *

As soon as Seyeon heard the nurse turn away for a second, she made her move. Griping her cloak, she leapt past the startled nurse and out the door.

"Hey! Where are you- Stop her!"

Seyeon heard two security guards shout with surprise and begin running after her, but she ignored them as she hurriedly slid on her cloak. She reached towards her belt, and felt a surge of panic as she realized why it felt lighter than usual.

Her scrolls were missing.

* * *

"Four minutes"

"I can tell time, Itachi"

* * *

Seyeon was thrown a bit off balance by the discovery of the missing scrolls, but she impatiently shook it off. ­­­­

_I have to shake these guys._

The blind ninja turned a corner and abruptly collided with an unmoving object. She fell to the ground, realizing that she must have turned down an alley. A dead-end alley. She rapidly got to her feet and began to turn around, but only made it halfway around before a large hand closed firmly around her wrist.

"She obviously has some kind of brain trauma" "Let's get her back to the hospital" Seyeon launched a punch at the guard holding her, but her lack of physical strength meant it was almost useless. However, as her fist made contact with his side, she felt something very familiar attached to his belt.

Her scrolls.

* * *

_Three minutes…_

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**Well, that's another cliffhanger- I mean **_**chapter **_**out of the way. Make sure to review and tell me what you think**


	3. Welcome To Damage Inc

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Iron Maiden (irrelevant, but I just wanted to put that out there)**

* * *

_Three minutes…_

* * *

As Seyeon's concentration momentarily wavered at the discovery that the security guard had taken her scrolls, a hand grabbed her leg and spun her around. She slammed hard into the wall of the alley, pain shooting through her newly-healed chest.

Seyeon slumped to the ground as if in defeat, and waited for the guards to step nearer with her head bowed. She felt a slight rush of air as the skinny guard moved his hand towards her and directed her movements towards it, reaching out. She felt warm flesh under her grasping fingers and tightened her grip before twisting violently.

A sickening crack and a shouted oath told her that she had broken the man's arm, but she didn't stick around to celebrate. Pinpointing the heavy-set guard's heartbeat with her enhanced hearing, she leapt at him and ripped her scrolls from his belt. He barely had time to snarl something before her adrenaline-pumped leg muscles had landed her on his shoulders. Using them as a tree branch the same way that she had so many times before, she vaulted down the street and smashed his face into the dirt.

Suddenly, from the rooftops, two mist headband-wearing chunin landed in front of her. Seyeon stopped and cursed slightly while unraveling her first scroll. Biting down hard on her middle finger, she wiped a smear of blood over the kanji that decorated the page.

* * *

"Kisame, I'm giving her one more minute"

"Don't worry" Kisame said, still looking towards the village. "She'll be here"

"Trust me, I'm not worrying"

* * *

Seyeon absentmindedly licked a trickle of one of the chunin's blood off of her cheek as she fled down the street. Behind her, the chunin's partner was helping him to his feet, his fading voice ringing through the air;

"I need a medic nin to my position and immediate support to the main gate!"

_Must have a comm _she thought. Seconds later, a rushing sound alerted her of wind rushing through bars, and her hand made contact with the gate shortly.

The blind mist nin stepped back, cracked her neck, and took a running leap over the gate. Feeling the reassuring presence and scent of trees, she sped up until she entered the forest. Then, two familiar chakra signatures- one of them enormous- appeared at the edge of her field of vision (figuratively speaking)

* * *

Itachi opened his eyes and turned to his partner "She's out of time. Let's go" Kisame took one last look around and reluctantly nodded.

Suddenly, a crashing noise began to echo through the undergrowth. Kisame frantically tried to locate a chakra signature, but nothing registered. Finally, a familiar blue-skinned figure burst through the trees and landed in front of the two Akatsuki.

Seyeon straightened and grinned at Kisame, who raised his eyebrows before voicing the obvious questions: "What happened? And why do you have blood on your face?"

Seyeon smirked, showing a mouthful of small pointed teeth "Well, I don't know if you had noticed, but I have holes where my eyes are supposed to be, so…" She cut off at a look of pure venom from Itachi, then continued in a slightly more serious voice.

"I was ambushed by a pair of chunin after I fought off a couple of hospital security guards" Kisame nodded in understanding before turning to Itachi.

"We should get going" he said brightly. The Uchiha murderer simply glared and muttered something before leaping away.

* * *

After they had put some distance between them and the hostilities, Kisame turned to Seyeon.

"I don't know if the nurse mentioned it, but- " he began, but Seyeon cut him off.

"She did" Kisame nodded and continued. "Well, how about it? Would you be willing to join the Akatsuki? I'd hate to have to threaten to kill your family or something like that"

At this statement, Itachi's Sharingan caught a small change in Seyeon's expression, as if something else was hiding behind that smirking face. However, it disappeared in an instant, and Seyeon said smoothly "No persuasion necessary. I'm more that willing"

Kisame blinked, tried not to look disappointed at the fact that he wouldn't get to do his "physical convincing", then grinned at her as a smile slid across her face- a pointy-toothed smile so like his own- and nodded.

Itachi, meanwhile, turned away saying "We'd better get to the hideout". Even as he said it, he couldn't help but glance back at the slight Mist nin. There was something different about her, even by Mist standards- but he was less unnerved by that than he was by the fact that he couldn't tell what.

* * *

**Well, that was kind of short. I'll make it up next time (I've got something big planned)**

**  
Please Review**


	4. The Secret Within

**Disclaimer: I own Seyeon, not Naruto (sorry Kisame)**

* * *

Itachi, Kisame and Seyeon had been traveling for two days. As the three ninja approached Amegakure, Seyeon slowed down "Wait" she said skeptically. "The hideout of the Akatsuki, the most feared group of ninja in the world, is in the Hidden Rain Village?"

Itachi didn't even bother to acknowledge her question. Kisame shot a glare at him before replying "Our leader is the ruler of Amegakure. No one questions us"

Seyeon nodded. "I suppose if you want to form an evil organization bent on world domination, having your very own city is a helpful bonus"

Kisame grinned and nodded. As the three slowed down while they entered Amegakure, Kisame noticed that Seyeon was continuously wiping her hand over her head, as if trying to rid herself of a persistent fly.

"Something wrong?" he asked. Seyeon shook her head, but she answered anyway. "I don't like rain" Kisame thought about how this would affect her living in Ame when another question occurred to him.

"Seyeon…" he hesitated, then began to speak in a low voice that would be unheard by civilians walking past. "…how exactly did you lose your eyes?"

Seyeon's face remained impassive, but Kisame noticed that she began to shake, very slightly. "I'm sorry, Kisame. I don't think I'm ready to tell you that yet." Kisame was a little dismayed by her reply, but not really surprised. Your trust was one of the hardest things to give to someone else when you were a missing nin.

Finally, the trio arrived at the tallest tower in Amegakure. Kisame formed two hand signs, watched as the door slid quietly open, took a quick look around, then ushered Seyeon inside with Itachi close behind.

Inside the tower, Kisame led Seyeon up a long flight of stairs to a large door. Hesitating for a spit second, he knocked once on the door

"Enter" a voice called from within. The door swung slowly open, revealing a large, airy room. From the smell of rain, Seyeon could tell that there was a balcony of sorts in the far wall. However, she couldn't see the man that was seated on it.

As he slowly turned to face the pair with an air of complete superiority- Kisame wouldn't have been surprised if Seyeon could feel the waves of "better-than-youitness" (as he called it) radiating off of him. He surveyed Kisame, then his rippled eyes fell on Seyeon. His eyebrow rose slightly. "Kisame" he said in a quiet voice. "Explain"

Kisame scratched the back of his head. "Well- you see, Leader, I brought this girl- Seyeon- as a replacement for Deidara. Just as you ordered" he reminded the piercing-studded redhead.

Pain nodded slowly, as if lost in thought. Then he turned to Seyeon. "What is your name?" he asked in a not-quite-friendly, not-quite-hostile voice, as if he hadn't heard Kisame tell him.

Seyeon straightened. "Seyeon" she said seriously. Kisame was a bit surprised when she spoke; she almost sounded like a different person when she wasn't smiling or making a joke.

Pain raised an eyebrow. "And your last name?" At this, Kisame saw Seyeon shift slightly to grip her left arm with her right hand.

"I don't have one" she said quietly. Kisame's eyebrows contracted at this, and even Pain was looking at her with something that may have been considered pity. Which Kisame thought was odd, given that he didn't have one either.

"Well then, I guess we should see what you can do" Pain said briskly. Turning to Kisame, he added. "Bring Miss- Seyeon to training grounds when I contact you" Kisame nodded.

Outside Pain's "office", Kisame turned to Seyeon, opened his mouth, then shut it again. She obviously wasn't in the habit of talking about her past; for that matter, neither was he.

After a few minutes of silence, Kisame heard a familiar voice inside his head.

"All is ready, Kisame. Bring her"

Kisame nodded, then remembered that Pain couldn't see him. "Yes, leader" he replied. Then he turned to Seyeon.

"I hope you're ready. You're about to have the test of your life"

* * *

As Seyeon stepped through the door to the training grounds, she was able to discern a few things about it; first, the absence of wind or rain led her to believe that it was, in fact indoors. From the airy feel she got when she entered, she figured that it was quite large. And at the moment, there were an assortment of heartbeats all around her.

_The other Akatsuki _she thought. Arranging her features to show as little apprehension as possible, Seyeon stopped walking. Beside her, she felt Kisame and Itachi's breathing slowly recede. Then, a loud, obnoxious voice rang through the room.

"Holy shit! It's Kisame with boobs!"

Seyeon turned in the direction of the voice and pinpointed a faint heartbeat, but then Pain began to speak.

"Seyeon, to join the Akatsuki, one must prove their strength by defeating another Akatsuki in battle. Normally I would impress upon you that it is not necessary to kill your opponent, but that seems unlikely here"

Seyeon was slightly offended by his last statement, but she didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it; at that moment, the heartbeat on the other side of the room had suddenly begun to grow louder and louder. Then, she heard a metallic clang followed by rushing air as some kind of weapon hit the ground then was swung at her.

Swinging around, Seyeon caught the edge of her opponent's weapon just before it sank into her flesh. She felt the blade slice into her hand, but ignored the pain. Using her hypersensitive fingers, she quickly began examining the weapon that she gripped.

_A scythe _she thought with mild amusement. Leaping back, Seyeon withdrew her first scroll from her belt and unfurled it, swiping her cut hand across the surface.

As the eyeless girl gripped her own black scythe, she felt the heartbeat quicken. "Oh, this is gonna be hilarious. A blind chick with a fucking scythe. Holy shit"

"Hidan, I would avoid underestimating her" a much more calm voice said. As Seyeon allowed her senses to expand to the voice, she discovered something disturbing: whoever just said that had five heartbeats.

"Shut up, Kakuzu!" the first voice shouted. "I know what I'm doing!" However, there was clearly one thing that he didn't know.

There weren't a lot of things that upset Seyeon, but being underestimated due to her "condition" just happened to be one of them.

_No mercy _she thought. Grinning savagely, she launched herself in the direction of the man's- Hidan's- voice.

Seyeon heard a sharp intake of breath in front of her a split second before she launched a flurry of blows at him; a series of sharp _clang_s told her that they had all been blocked. The pair battled savagely back and forth for a few minutes, but Seyeon never seemed to be able to gain the upper hand. Finally, it became quite obvious that Hidan was wearing her down; however, Seyeon's grin never left her face

Meanwhile, on one of the many benches set into the walls of the training room, Itachi was rather confused. "Why does she look so happy? She's barely managing to hold her own. If she slips up once, Hidan's going to kill her"

Kisame looked at Seyeon, and he recognized the expression on her face very well.

"I can tell you why" Itachi looked at him. "It's because this is what she loves to do" he said. "She's smiling because she doesn't care if she's one wrong move away from being killed; she's having fun with the fight"

Just as Itachi shook his head and muttered "Fool…", there was an earsplitting crash from the floor. A split second later, Seyeon stood weaponless, her scythe embedded in the ground almost 10 feet away, Hidan having smashed the flat of his scythe against her weapon hand.

Seyeon stood defiantly with Hidan's scythe centimeters from her chest and prepared for the worst when she heard a light _thud_ beside them. Seconds later, she heard Pain' voice again, this time much closer.

"Well, although you didn't defeat Hidan, I must admit I was intrigued by your battle. However, one thing still confuses me- why is it that you did not perform a single jutsu during the fight?"

Seyeon's cheeks tinged purple at the question, and suddenly Itachi and Kisame realized that they had never seen Seyeon perform a jutsu since they had met her almost three days ago.

"I… I have almost no chakra in my chakra network at all" Seyeon finally answered, looking at the ground. Itachi's eyes widened, and suddenly Kisame began remembering things that should have aroused his suspicions.

Seyeon not using substitution jutsu when Itachi impaled her on that kunai; him, not being able to sense her chakra signature approaching; even what Itachi mentioned about him noticing something different about her when he couldn't see anything extremely out of the ordinary.

"Leader" Itachi said, just barely keeping the skepticism out of his voice. "Is that possible? My eyes detected no chakra deficiency in her"

"If I'm correct, and I usually am" Pain said as he surveyed the panting kunoichi with an almost scholarly interest. "I would say that she spreads her chakra throughout her system as thinly as possible, thus creating a very effective illusion of a normal ninja's chakra.

Seyeon nodded, still trying to catch her breath, when her eye sockets widened. She dropped to her hands and knees and coughed, causing all of the ninja in the room to cautiously approach her.

"Hidan" Kisame said in a dangerous voice, but the immortal quickly replied "It wasn't me! I never even hit the fucking bitch!" Kisame nodded, then stepped forward. "Seyeon?" he asked hesitantly.

The Mist nin looked up at him, then, with shaking hands, detached the second scroll from her belt- the scroll Kisame had never seen her open- and pressed it into his hands.

"Use it- before- can't-control- AHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Seyeon screamed. Kisame reached his hand out to her in alarm, but he quickly snatched it back, his concern rapidly deteriorating into pure shock.

Seyeon's body was mutating, elongating as it rapidly grew larger. As the collective Akatsuki watched in stupefaction, Seyeon's fingers fused together to from three wicked black claws on each hand. A shell of metallic grey armour formed on top of her head and began spreading down her back. By this time, Seyeon's legs had disappeared, replaced by a massive tail ending in a thin black stinger similar to a scorpion's. Her mouth filled with needle-sharp black teeth, her head becoming reptilian-shaped. Suddenly, six miniature tails sprouted from her back, each sporting a smaller version of the monstrous spine on the end of its large tail.

And, as Kisame instinctively gripped the handle of Samehada, a 30-foot long monster had uncoiled before him.

"Holy shit" Hidan whispered. Behind him, Kakuzu's red and green eyes had widened, and the stitches on his arms had begun to tremble. Itachi's eyes had slowly shifted form to the shuriken-like Mangekyō, and Pain's steel-grey Rinnegan had narrowed dangerously.

Kisame looked down at his hand and frantically unraveled the scroll he held. On it was nothing but two characters, 否定, surrounded by an intricate matrix of swirling black lines.

"Negation" he whispered. "Leader! I think that this scroll Seyeon gave me is a seal"

Pain turned to look at him, then nodded and held out his hand. Kisame handed him the scroll.

"Now, all of you, I need you to do whatever you can to give me an opening to use this. We need to stop her before she escapes into the city" When no one moved, his eyes narrowed further. "Go! Now!" he growled.

Within seconds, the Akatsuki and the monster had engaged each other. A massive, clawed hand crashed down on Kakuzu, leaving a huge cloud of dust and smoke. However, when it cleared, Kakuzu was gripping the claws, his skin an odd dirt-coloured brown. Just then, Itachi appeared in front of the beast and began rapidly formed two hand signs.

_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_

However, as Itachi's flaming breath sprang into existence, the monster opened its mouth and a shockwave of black water erupted out, extinguishing the fire and knocking Itachi backwards.

Kisame leaped over the monster's back, the whole time remembering that this was Seyeon- he had to make sure that he didn't kill her. As he landed, the beast's tail began tracking him. As he watched, the black stinger shot out and whistled toward him. Swinging Samehada in front of him, he managed to defect the stinger just in time to see a new one grow in the hole that the first one had left behind.

"That could be a problem" he breathed. Around him, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Itachi were frantically attempting to subdue the monster, but to little avail.

Standing removed from the fight, Pain saw that his fellows had the beast as occupied as it was going to be. Thrusting his open hands out, he focused his chakra towards it.

_Almighty PUSH!!!!_

As the very air in the room rippled, the thing that was Seyeon was blasted against the wall, nearly destroying it in the process. Kakuzu took the opportunity to subdue it with his tendrils. The others stepped forward, but the ex-waterfall nin spat "Get back!"

Suddenly, Pain was standing directly in front of the struggling beast. Kakuzu, sweat pouring down his face, twisted his arms and slammed the beast's head into the dust. Reaching forward, Pain pressed the sealing scroll directly to its forehead.

Kisame watched as the creature began to shrink rapidly; claws becoming fingers, legs sprouting where there used to be a tail, and armour receding to make way for teal-streaked black hair.

When the transformation was complete, Seyeon was slumped before them, still tightly bound with Kakuzu's threads. The stitched nin raised his browned fist- which he could use to punch through iron walls- and began approaching the girl. However, before Kisame could even shout "Stop!" Pain had laid his hand on Kakuzu's arm.

"Kakuzu… release her" As the entire Akatsuki looked at him incredulously, he glared. After Seyeon had been released and was being supported carefully by Kisame, he continued. "Kisame, please escort Seyeon to her room"

As the two slightly shell-shocked mist ninja left the room, Itachi and Kakuzu both converged on Pain.

"Leader, I respectfully advise that you do not allow her to live; for the sake of every living being in this city" Kakuzu said, and Itachi nodded his agreement.

Pain turned to the two of them. "I appreciate your concern for my people" he said in a voice that made it almost impossible for the pair to decide if he was being sarcastic "But I have a perfectly viable reason to allow the girl to live: if she could be trained to control this… ability, she would be a valuable asset to us"

Pain looked towards the door. "And if she cannot… I will remember your recommendation"

* * *

As soon as Kisame had shut the door of his room behind him and Seyeon, he turned to her furiously.

"What the hell was that!?"

"Kisame, please-"

"You know, it would have been helpful to know that you had a monster inside you!"

"I would have told you-"

"Yeah? Before or after you had killed-"

"KISAME!!!!!" Seyeon screamed.

His rant momentarily silenced, the shark nin looked at Seyeon. Her mouth was set in a hard line as she patted the bed beside her. "Sit down"

Kisame's eyebrows flew up. "Sit down? Why?"

Seyeon took a deep breath. "It's time I told you how I lost my eyes"

* * *

**Oh, now things are starting to get interesting**

**I working on a** **picture** **of the** **beast that Seyeon turns into, so I'll let you know when it's up.**

**Please review!**

**Oh, one more thing; Chapter 5 is all handwritten out (it fills my free time at school), so keep an eye out for it too**

**Next Up: Seyeon's story **


	5. Seyeon

**Disclaimer: For the last time (ha I wish) I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

"It's time I told you how I lost my eyes"

Seyeon and Kisame were seated on Kisame's bed. Taking a deep breath, Seyeon squared her shoulders and began.

"When I was 16, I was living with my parents and my older sister outside Kirigakure. My father was a steel smith who made weapons for Kiri's Black Ops division and my mother was an amateur artist. We didn't have a lot of money, but it was enough for the four of us

"As for me and my sister, we were best friends. My sister used to be fairly social, but when her best friend tried to force himself on her, she started spending a lot more time at home.

"Me, I was used to being alone. I had always been very agile, and I liked to use my 'gift' to explore the forest around my house. However, the life of a ninja never really appealed to me; I guess I never thought I would have to hurt others for a living. I was wrong.

"One day, my father had just returned from work and my mother was sitting on our lawn painting. My sisterwassitting on our porch reading a book, but I was lying on my back in the middle of the grass, enjoying the sun- like I told you, I wasn't a big fan of rain.

"That's when they came.

"A large group of masked men wearing Mist headbands burst through the trees and surrounded the house. My mother stood up, her eyes widening, and started toward me as if in slow motion. But it was too late.

"A knife flew out of nowhere and buried itself in my mother's neck. As she crumpled soundlessly to the ground, my father roared and threw himself at the ninja who threw it, knocking him unconscious. Then, a group of his fellows swarmed my father and ran him through with their blades.

Just then, I saw a tall man standing opposite out yard from me. He looked directly into my eyes, stood still for a few seconds, ten pointed at me. I waited for the knives to fly my way, but they didn't. Instead, the bastards targeted my sister.

"A storm of kunai flew at her, but she managed to duck through the door. I was relieved; then, I saw the sizzling tags attached to the ends of the kunai. Then, with a tremendous blast, my house exploded.

"For a few seconds, I just stood still, looking around at the bodies of my parents and the burning remains of my home. Then I turned to the man I had noticed before, my clenched fists shaking, only to see him weaving hand signs.

"_Forbidden Art: Living Nightmare Jutsu!_"

"I flinched and closed my eyes as I felt a wave of cold wash over me, then slowly opened them.

"All around me, the landscape had been transformed. The trees were all chalk-white, leafless, and reaching for me. The remains of my house were collapsing, a roaring, flaming man with the head of a bull emerging from the charred wood and metal. The sky had become blood red, the sun a cold white orb. The ground was brown, but a red stain was swiftly sweeping across it. Then, I looked behind me and saw the worst sight of all.

"The bodies of my parents had gotten up from the ground, blood leaking from their wounds, clusters of worms uncoiling from their empty eye sockets. As I watched in terror, my father's lower jaw detached from his head and fell to the ground with a sickening _squelch_ as they both lurched toward me. I wanted to shut my eyes, to pretend that it wasn't happening, but I couldn't. Rational thought had abandoned me. And then…"

Seyeon held her hands out in front of her "I… I didn't want to see any more" she whispered in a tortured voice. "I just wanted the nightmare to end" And Kisame saw, for the first time, the almost unnoticeable red stains that coated her fingertips. The shark nin began to feel sick.

"After I… did it… I couldn't see any more, so the jutsu was nullified, but the shock caused me to pass out. When I woke up, I had no idea where I was.

"I was lying on a cold, hard floor, completely nude. I could feel chains circling my wrists, and when I tried to move, I found that they let me sit up but stopped me from rising any higher than that. The strangest thing, though, was that I felt something burning on my right palm- not enough to hurt, but just enough to make me notice. Then, I heard a door swing open.

"As I instinctively moved to cover my private areas (with difficulty, due to the chains), a voice rang through the room. At that point, I noticed that the voice echoed, and realized that the room I was being held in must have been very large.

"'Hello, Miss. I apologize for your rough welcome, but we were in rather pressing need of test subjects and we didn't have the time or the patience to ask for volunteers.

"Hearing the authority in his voice, I guessed that the man who was speaking was the same man who I had noticed at my home.

"I threw myself in his direction, trying to cause him as much pain as possible, but the chains around my wrists held me back.

"I heard the man chuckle dryly, and I could practically see his cruel, mocking face floating in front of me. However, as my anger continued to grow, the man's earlier statement caught up to me.

"'Test subject…?' I whispered. 'What have you done to me?'

I heard another man laugh from beside me, and deduced that the important man must have brought a guard with him. However, when the first man spoke again, there was no humour in his voice.

"'You acted as a human test platform for our Research and Development department's Mutagenic Curse Seal. You may have noticed it burned into you palm.

"I frantically dragged my chained left hand over to my right and felt it- sure enough; I felt a mass of small crescent shapes etched into my skin. As I sat there, unsure what to say or do, the man spoke again.

"'In fact, the seal will probably be taking effect within-' However, I didn't hear the rest of his sentence, because at that moment, pain lanced through my body. I fell to the floor, crying out in agony. My last memory was feeling my fingers beginning to fuse together. Then, I blacked out. Or so I thought.

"I woke up later, my head pounding. I realized without caring very much at the moment that my chains were gone. Then a smell reached my newly oversensitive nostrils; the terribly familiar smell of blood.

"Feeling around on the floor around me and expecting the worst, I came across a pool of thick, sticky liquid. And lying in the center of it was a body.

"_One of the guards _I thought in stupefaction. But, as I ran my hand over his unmoving frame, I felt something sharp slice through the exposed flesh of my back. Gasping, I swung around, blood welling from the long gash that had been carved into my skin.

"'Yes, you did that' a familiar voice said. I shook my head in disbelief. 'No… I couldn't have… I was unconscious'

"I heard the man sigh, and suddenly a hand struck my face. Falling back, I felt a pair of strong hands grip my shoulders. With a cry, I attempted to shake them off, but the figure holding me was much stronger than I was, and attached new chains to my wrist before binding my arms to my sides with more chain.

"'You were not unconscious' the man's voice said sharply. 'You simply had no conscious control over your thoughts or actions. The curse seal caused you to mutate into an extremely powerful monster, which was expected. However, you were unable to control yourself, and one of my guards was forced to use an emergency seal we had brought with us. Needless to say' he paused for emphasis. 'it did not work'"

"I sat down on the ground, trying to keep myself calm while also trying to sit upright with my arms chained to my sides. 'So… what are you going to do with me?'

"At first, I thought that the man was not going to answer; I heard receding footsteps, followed by a heavy door being opened. Then, the man's voice rang out one more time.

"Thankfully, all is not lost. Even if we are not able to control you, we simply need to be able to stop you when your work is done. So, you will remain here until a seal is devised and you have been deemed an effective weapon.

"Then, he left the room. His last words were still burning in my ears. A weapon. That's all I would be.

* * *

"Over the next two years, I never left that room. I was always chained up, sometimes just barely, sometimes to the point where I couldn't move at all. I was fed twice a day, and if I had to go to the bathroom… I just did" Seyeon admitted, reddening slightly.

"When I look back at it now, I thank Kami that I was so used to being alone. That was, I think, what kept me sane. I was also driven by thoughts of escape, but my constant transformations complicated things; even if I did escape, how would I stop myself from attacking innocent people?

"One day, I had almost blacked out due to the change when I felt my sense returning. Finally, when I was completely aware of my surroundings, I felt my face just to make sure I wasn't imagining things.

"Behind me, a guard was replacing my bonds, but I was too stunned to care all that much. Then, the ever-present man whom I had learned to be the project director entered the room.

"'Excellent!' he said enthusiastically. 'It appears that this scroll is able to seal your mutated form. That means we will be able to transport you to a nearby Kirigakure military facility. Hopefully, you will enjoy your new life as a weapon of war'

"As his heartbeat gradually receded and the only breath left in the room was my own, I was left to my thoughts, and one was standing out above all the others: If I was going to escape, I would have to do it today.

"Later that day, I was curled up on the floor (that is, the best I could with chains around my elbows, wrists, ankles and knees), trying to arrange myself into a convincing position of pain while waiting for the guard that would bring me my food. Then, I heard the door open. _Showtime…_

"I moaned loudly, making sure the guard could hear. He hesitated, stopping in his tracks, then came over and leaned over me to try and figure out what was wrong with me as I started to twitch.

"With a loud_ crack_ I swung my head up and slammed it into his,knocking him out cold. Feeling around his prone form, I found a ring of keys. Then, after much trial and error, I unlocked the chains around my body and stood up, my legs screaming in protest. The pain made me realize that I hadn't stood up in two years.

"I ran in the direction that the guards always left in, found the door, and eased my way through it. Carefully hugging the wall, I began to slowly advance through the hallway. Then, a heartbeat reached my ears.

"That's when I started to panic a little bit. After all, I had nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, and whoever was coming my way could probably see. Then, I felt the air above me stirring.

"Tilting my head upward, I felt a blast of warm air and realized that I was standing under an air vent. Leaping upward, I tightly gripped the cover of the vent and waited, hanging 10 feet above the floor, for the person to pass underneath me. When I could hear breath directly below, I struck.

"Dropping down, I landed on top of the guard. For a brief moment, I struggled with him, then I threw the figure to the ground. I heard a single intake of breath before I quickly knelt down and slammed a hand over the person's mouth. Then, I felt their chest and realized something surprising; the figure I had just ambushed was a woman!

"Hesitating only slightly, I knocked her unconscious, then stripped off her guard uniform. Conveniently, the girl turned out to be only a bit taller than I was, so I had little trouble fitting into the uniform. No sooner had I slid on a pair of combat boots then her (now) naked figure began to stir.

"I grabbed her under the arms and dragged her back to my cell, laying her down beside the kayoed guard from earlier, who was still, thankfully, completely out of it. Afterwards, I felt around until I found my discarded chains and bound the half-conscious girl.

"Finally, she came to her senses. 'Hey! What are you-' thinking fast, I removed a kunai from a pocket of the flak vest I was wearing and held it under her chin. 'Listen carefully' I said in a tone that left no room for argument. 'I really don't want to have to kill you. So, if you'll just tell me where the sealing scroll is being stored, I won't'

"Her heart rate speeding up in panic, the girl answered. 'It's in a room just down the hall from here- left side of the hall- single-sized' Then, I heard her gasp. 'Wait a minute- you're- mphhh!'

"Before she could finish, I removed one of the gloves on my hand and shoved it into her mouth. Removing a lace from my boots, I tied the wad of cloth in place, then turned and departed while pulling a full-face mask over my head.

"Behind me, the girl was vainly trying to scream something, but I couldn't care less; I just wanted to get out. Dressed as a guard, I found the room the girl had described, took the scroll unhindered, and also managed to steal a tattered brown cloak. Once I was outside the facility, I only paused to discard my guard disguise.

"Then I ran.

"I ran away fro my prison for seven straight days. During that time, I learned to use my heightened senses more efficiently, as well as finding out what had happened in the outside world while I had been imprisoned.

"Finally, after a straight week of running, I couldn't run any further. So I slept. After sleeping for a full day and a half, I woke up, got my bearings, and just happened to run into you and Itachi.

"There's my story"

* * *

**Normally I use this space for my own comments about the chapter, but I think this one speaks for itself.**

**This will probably be the last chapter of The Newcomer I post for the foreseeable future, because I want to get ahead in my other fanfics.**

**Next Up: A Rare Moment of Peace**

**Happy Holidays to all of my readers!**

**Please review! **


	6. A Rare Moment of Peace

**Disclaimer: I'm back, and I still don't own Naruto**

* * *

Kisame stirred, blinked sleepily, muttered a very obscene curse directed toward sunlight, then rolled to simply drift back to sleep, his plan was sharply interrupted as the sight of the blue-skinned girl sleeping curled up in a chair beside his bed brought the memories of the previous day rushing back- reaching the hideout, Seyeon's fight with Hidan, her… transformation-

And the story she had told him afterward.

Being an Akatsuki, Kisame was no stranger to depressing experiences. His own life certainly hadn't been anything to brag about, and he had probably been the cause of more than a few unpleasant memories himself. However, even he had found it difficult to simply brush off Seyeon's recount of her life. It had been terrible, certainly, but what struck him the most was that she had only been sixteen when this happened to her. Barely out of her preteen years, and she had already endued more horrors than several people more than twice her age.

Realizing that he was staring at her, Kisame turned over so that his face was hidden behind his shoulder (not for her benefit, but in case any of his teammates happened to enter his room). Sneaking a look at her blood-streaked face, Kisame felt a small twinge of admiration stir inside him. She had been dealing with all of those things for two years, imprisoned all the while, and she still managed to be one of the most cheerful, upbeat people he'd ever met. Itachi could learn a thing or two from her.

She shifted slightly. "You may as well stop trying to hide it. I can hear your breathing, and it's definitely not sleep breathing"

Kisame blinked, then grinned dryly. That was something he'd have to get used to. He sat up, seeing her do the same. "Morning" he said, trying to sound cheerful- then realizing that it was probably a hopeless motion; Seyeon would almost automatically notice the slight difference in his tone.

She did. Turning in his general direction, she gave him a sad sort of smile. "Look, about last night… I'm sorry. I know you didn't need to hear that, you've got your own problems. I just… I just really needed to get that off my chest"

Kisame shook his head, then remembered that she couldn't see him. "Don't apologize" he said, leaning back on his pillow. "After all," he continued, a much more real grin forming on his features. "If we're going to be business partners, I should probably know these kinds of things about you" Seyeon rewarded him with a tired smile of her own, then moved over and sat on the bed beside him.

"So… are we okay?"

Kisame considered for a few seconds. "On one condition: I want to ask you a few questions about your story" Seyeon hesitated for a split second before nodding.

"Okay, shoot"

"Firstly: are you really only 18?"

Seyeon gave him strange look before answering "Yeah… why?"

"Oh, no reason" Kisame answered quickly. "You just seem a lot more mature than that" Inside his head, a voice was repeating a phrase over and over that sounded suspiciously like "Pervert"

Seyeon grinned. "I never really thought of myself as mature, to tell you the truth. My sister was always the mature one" As she spoke, her smile slipped a little.

Kisame stayed silent for a few minutes, then continued. "So… your sister… what was her name?"

Seyeon just sat silently for a second, facing Kisame. When she finally spoke, Kisame felt slightly uncomfortable- almost like he had just barely passed some kind of test. "Her name was Valhalla" she said finally. "My mother was enamored with Mythology, so she named her after the place where great Norse heroes go after their death"

Kisame was silent for a few seconds, then a thought occurred to him. "What about you?"

Seyeon looked slightly taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Kisame sighed. "I find it unlikely that your mother would have named you 'No eyes' backwards, unless she had an uncanny sense of foresight"

Seyeon's face fell. "No" she said quietly. "She didn't" As Kisame waited expectantly, she looked at him, her face a grim mask of grief. "I don't remember what name my mother gave me. The two years in captivity made my memory start to fade away. I can remember most things, but anything concerning my parents is a complete blank"

Kisame blinked. "But… it couldn't have just been your parents who called you by your name- you must have some memory of it"

Seyeon bowed her head. "No, I can't even remember what it might have been or what it sounded like. But it doesn't really matter, anyway. That life is over. After I left the institution, I gave myself a new name so that I could leave my old life behind"

Kisame frowned. "Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you"

Seyeon smiled sadly. "I know"

The two ninja sat in silence for a while, then Kisame rose from the bed.

"Well," the shark nin yawned. "We may as well get a start on the day" Looking at the clock, which read 11:30 am, he groaned. "Well, better late than never. Oh well, lets go anyway. Around here, you barely ever get a chance to relax, so you have to treasure any moments of peace you might stumble into. Plus," the ex-Ninja Swordsman added "You should probably get acquainted with things around here" Nodding, Seyeon slid off the bed and the pair walked across the room. Kisame reached the door first and opened it, holding it open for Seyeon. A split second later, he realized what he was doing and blushed, the blue of his skin momentarily turning purple. Seyeon smiled, her own face tinting slightly as well. Then, the two blue-skinned figures stepped through and closed the door.

* * *

On the outskirts of the Rain village, a figure in a hooded cloak was beginning their long trek across the rainy fields, their mind set on a certain blue-skinned, eyeless face.

* * *

Downstairs in the Akatsuki's "sitting room", Hidan was fuming.

"What the fuck?!? That bitch is a frickin monster! Why in Jashin's name are we keeping her here? Leader-sama should have just slit her throat and be done with it"

"Hidan, you've been bitching about this since yesterday" Kakuzu said patiently. "I'll explain it one more time: Leader-sama thinks that she could be extremely useful to our cause, so we're keeping an eye on her for the time being"

Hidan sank back into the couch, grumbling. Beside him, Kakuzu returned the ledger he had been poring over while Tobi (who was sitting on the floor in front of them) continued to stack an armful of kunai into the shape of a building; meanwhile, unnoticed by any of them, Konan was sitting on her own cushy chair in the corner of the room, curled up with a book.

Suddenly, the door opened and Kisame walked in, guiding Seyeon by the hand. When she entered, Hidan looked at Kisame and sniggered. "It must be shark week" he muttered, earning a groan from his partner and a giggle from Tobi. In the corner of the room, Konan looked up from her book and, spotting the newcomer, scanned her with her calculating eyes. However, to Kisame's immense surprise, she stopped after a few seconds and smiled before coming over to join the others.

"Guys, I don't think anyone told you this, given… the circumstances yesterday, so- this is Seyeon" Kisame said to the room.

Predictably, Tobi was the first to make contact. "Hi there! Tobi's name is Tobi. Tobi is a good boy!" he said happily, holding out his hand. Kisame hastily grabbed it and guided it into Seyeon's.

"Hello, Tobi" Seyeon laughed- now that they were with other people again, she was regaining her cheerful presence. Next, Kakuzu stepped forward and carefully took Seyeon's small hand in his own.  
Hi, I'm Kakuzu. Oh, as long as you're going to be living here, I figure I should give you some advice: watch out for Hidan" Seyeon giggled as Hidan muttered a curse, before speaking again.

"Do you mind?" she inquired, reaching toward Kakuzu's face. His eyes widened momentarily before he realized what she meant.

"Um… sure, I guess" he said hesitantly, before removing his mask. Seyeon leaned forward and slowly began running her hands over his features, constructing a mental image of him with her highly sensitive fingers.

She felt his stitched mouth, his deep-set eyes, and his narrow chin. "Ooooh" she breathed, feeling his long hair. Finally, after a few minutes, she lowered her hands and smiled. "Those… stitches, are they? Well, anyway, they're really interesting. Beautiful, in a way"

Kakuzu pulled his mask back on, hiding the emotion swiftly crossing his face. Beside him, Hidan rolled his eyes. However, when Seyeon turned to him and asked "May I?" he quickly turned and nodded.

Kakuzu sighed. "Seeing as this is the closest Hidan's going to get to a woman in his entire life, I guess he's getting exited" he muttered to Konan, who muffled a laugh behind her palm.

"Shut the fuck up, Kakuzu" Hidan growled, then smirked as Seyeon ran her fingers through his hair. The blind kunoichi wrinkled her nose, then quickly removed her hands from him.

"What?!? You've got to be fucking kidding me!" he complained as Kakuzu and Konan dissolved into silent fits of laughter. "The birds nest on Kakuzu's head impresses you, but my god's hair doesn't?!? How- I oughtta- bitch-" until finally, the amount of things he was trying to say at the same time nearly choked him and he relapsed into grumbling silence.

Finally, Seyeon came to Konan- then hesitated. Beside her, Kisame was wondering if he should interfere- Konan wasn't exactly the most social person in the world, and being felt up by a person she'd never met before- a _teenage girl _she'd never met before- probably wouldn't sit well with her.

To his mild shock, Konan smiled and leaned forward, saying "Go ahead" Seyeon reached out and began running her fingers over the blue-haired woman's face as Hidan's nose began to absentmindedly bleed in the background.

Having finished, Seyeon smiled at Konan. "Wow, I like that piercing. And your hair is so smooth and silky…" At this, Hidan threw his arms up into the air and stalked out, cursing under his breath.

"Yeah, and guess what else- it's _blue_" Kakuzu said casually. Seyeon raised an eyebrow, nut turned back to Konan. "Anyway, I'm really glad to meet you guys. Hopefully- she turned her head roughly in the direction Hidan had left- we can learn to get along without too many casualties" Kakuzu smiled beneath his mask and Konan grinned and placed a hand on Seyeon's shoulder. "Well, honey, welcome to the Akatsuki"

Seyeon smiled back just as Hidan reentered the room, Seeing Konan with her hand on Seyeon's shoulder, he stopped, stared for a few seconds, and slid over beside Kakuzu. "Okay, I've got 3000 ryo that says she's a lesbian" This earned him a smack in the jaw from Seyeon, which he responded to with a kick to the shin that missed and hit Kakuzu. Within a few minutes, the room had erupted.

"Umm… let's go upstairs, Seyeon" Kisame said hurriedly, noticing Konan beginning split apart into thousands of slips of paper- Konan's "crowd control" was usually a pretty uncomfortable (and painful) experience, so he had no wish to see Seyeon experience that on her first day.

"Fine" Seyeon grumbled. Casting Hidan a death look, she allowed herself to be led out of the room.

Ten minutes later, after Konan had managed to restore order, she turned to the trio of ninja who were now seated on the couch. "So… what do you think of our new member?"

"She seems alright"

"She's a bitch"

"Tobi thinks she's really nice!"

Konan smiled. "I like her" Kakuzu looked at her as if she had suggested he and Hidan take Tobi for a walk.

"Wait… for every recruit that's come into this organization- including us- you've taken at least a few days to even turn your back on them. What's so special about her?"

Konan shrugged. "I don't know, something about her…" she trailed off. Behind her, Hidan was holding a crudely drawn picture of two women lying on the floor, their lips locked. Kakuzu groaned, which caused Konan to turn around…

* * *

Upstairs, Kisame and Seyeon heard the shouts as easily as if they were standing beside the door. "Um… how about we make tracks?" Kisame asked uneasily. Seyeon nodded quickly, and the two made for the stairs leading to the top levels of the tower. However, before they reached them, Pain appeared in front of them.

"Seyeon… there's someone here to see you"

* * *

**Ooooh, cliffhanger**

**Okay, I just want to say that I am very sorry that it's taken me so long to update- I've had a lot on my mind. But, now I'm back, so I'll be posting updates again XD **

**Make sure to review and tell me what you think**


	7. Revelations

Disclaimer: I own nothing about this story but the plot and Seyeon

Seyeon stopped in midstride, her head turned to ward the direction of Pain's voice, a confused frown decorating her face.

"Someone to see me? But… who is it?"

Pain shifted his weight slightly from one foot to the other. "A young woman came to the tower, and asked to be admitted to see you" the self-proclaimed god hesitated for a split second. "She claims to be your sister"

Kisame felt his jaw drop; however, Seyeon seemed unmoved. "That's impossible" she said flatly. "My sister is dead"

Pain's eyebrow rose fractionally (given that he had not heard Seyeon's life story), but he continued. "She seemed very insistent about it"

Kisame looked at Seyeon, and the expression on her face made him feel rather unsettled; her eyeless sockets had narrowed, which made for an even more ominous effect on her that it normally did on a person who possessed eyes.

"Alright… take me to her" Normally, Pain would have disemboweled someone who spoke to him like that, but Seyeon was a member of his organization and (more importantly) he wanted to see how this played out. He wasn't curious, of course- he was above such things.

Pain slowly levered open the door to one of the chambers on the ground floor of the tower and stepped through, followed by Kisame, then Seyeon.

Seated on a hard, straight-backed chair in the middle of the room was a young woman with jet-black hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail. Kisame raised his eyebrows as he looked at her- the girl had human coloured skin, which made him doubt that she was really Seyeon's sister. However, her face shape and body were similar to Seyeon's.

Then she looked up at Kisame, and he blinked in surprise. The girl seated before him had the most unusual eyes he had ever seen (with the exception of the Sharingan and Rinnegan); they bore a striking resemblance to exotic marbles, with the top half, a piercing blue colour, melting slowly into a pale gold at the bottom.

The girl turned to look at Seyeon, and her frightened expression transformed into one of relief. Standing up, she took a half-step toward the blind girl, and as she smiled, Kisame saw that her teeth were small and pointy, just like Seyeon's.

Seyeon, her face cold an impassive, folded her arms. "And who, may I ask, are you?"

The girl stopped dead, a slight frown creeping over her face. "Sis… it's me. Valhalla"

Seyeon pursed her lips. "I doubt you'll be able to prove that"

Without a word, the young woman stepped forward, gently took Seyeon's hands in her own, and placed them on her face. Equally silently, Seyeon began running her hands over the girl's face, frowning in concentration. After a few minutes, she removed her hands and stepped back.

"Interesting" she said in a flat voice. Kisame glanced warily at her as she continued. "You look almost exactly like my sister, give or take a few features to account for two years of aging. However," her voice began to rise, "You are not my sister. I saw my sister die in front of me, along with my parents"

The girl's relief had clearly been replaced by fear again, and her the lack of composure in her voice made it obvious. "But… no, it's me! They didn't-"

"I don't know who you are or why you're pretending to be my sister, but I do know one thing- you will pay for mocking their sacrifice!" Seyeon's voice continued to rise until it became a scream, and she launched herself forward, her hands finding a hold around her throat.

The girl had no time to scream before Seyeon was upon her, and by then, the pressure on her airway rendered her unable to make any sound above incoherent wheezing. However, as Seyeon slammed her against the wall and prepared to watch her life ebb away, she felt herself caught in an invisible grip. Before she could register what was happening, Pain had pulled her off of the girl and Kisame had placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Hey! What-" Seyeon cried, but Kisame cut her off. "We can't have you under too much stress- let Leader-sama handle this"

Pain had stepped forward, a long, crooked black pole that ended in a deadly point emerging from his sleeve. Raising his hand over the girl, who was now crouched on the ground, clutching her bruised throat, he spoke, his voice as calm and collected as if he were discussing the weather.

"For what it's worth, I'm rather sorry it had to end like this. However, this young lady is a member of my organization, and her desires are mine"

The girl looked up at the spike, tears rolling down her face. Then she turned to Seyeon, only to see that she had turned and was beginning to depart.

"Marisha… please…"

Seyeon stopped dead, then slowly turned around. "What did you just call me?"

The girl gulped. "I called you Marisha- the name our mother gave you. You've obviously forgotten that by now"

Seyeon's eye sockets widened, and she sank to her knees. "Seyeon! What's wrong?" Kisame shouted. Pain, on the other hand, simply stood where he was, then withdrew his spear.

Seyeon began to shake as wave after wave of repressed memories flooded over her. She remembered her mother calling her into their house when she was a small child, her father saying how proud of her he was as she proudly showed him her newest drawing, both of them smiling over her as she drifted off to sleep. She remembered everything.

And there, in the center of it all, was her older sister.

Seyeon slowly turned to the girl, huddled against the wall, and walked over to her. She shrank away, but Seyeon knelt down on the ground and pulled her into a hug.

"Val" she whispered. "I'm so sorry"

Valhalla burst into tears, and if Seyeon had eyes, she would have too. The two of them sat on the floor, gripping each other as if the other might drift away at any second. Kisame just stood behind Seyeon, feeling very out of place, and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Pain, ever the cool pillar of reason, didn't even blink.

Finally, the two girls managed to compose themselves, and they stood up. "So… will you come with me? We can get a house, we can start over…" Valhalla said, her voice trailing off.

Seyeon turned toward Kisame, then Pain, then looked back at her sister. "Val… I'm sorry, but I'm staying here. These people are my family now, and I can't leave them, any more easily than I could have left mom or dad"

Valhalla sighed and nodded. "I had a feeling you would say that. Well, alright then… I'll be on my way" With that she turned and made to walk out the door.

Seyeon grabbed her arm. "Wait- can't you stay here?" Valhalla's eyes lit up; however, Pain chose that moment to reenter the conversation.

"I'm afraid… it's not that simple" the sisters turned to look at him, identical frowns of confusion adorning their faces. "We are the Akatsuki- the most feared terrorist organization in the ninja world. We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of hangers-on attaching themselves to our organization"

Seyeon's mouth dropped open. "You… how dare you! This 'hanger-on' you're referring to is my _sister!_"

Pain's eyes darkened dangerously, and Kisame instinctively stepped between him and the two girls. "Firstly: never speak to me like that. _Ever. _And secondly, while I appreciate your feelings, she presents no use to use. Therefore, she has no place here. I'm sorry"

As Seyeon glared at the pierced Ame leader, a funny smell began drifting through the room. Sniffing the air, Kisame asked "Des anyone else smell that?"

Pain looked at him, then toward the door, his eyes widening. "Not again…" Then, in a swish of his cloud-patterned cloak, he had run out of the room and up the stairs. Kisame followed, and after sharing a quick glance, Seyeon and Valhalla did the same.

Finally, Pain stopped outside a door a few floors up from the room they had previously been occupying. It was the same as all of the other doors in the tower, plain brown wood with an ornately carved handle; however, this one did have something remarkable about it- there was thick, black smoke curling out from under the door.

Pain threw the door open and strode inside. "Konan, when are you finally going to give this up?"

Kisame blinked in surprise. They were standing in one of the tower's many kitchens, and standing before them was Konan. She was wearing the blue pants and top that she seemed fond of wearing while uncloaked, with a black apron thrown haphazardly over it. The oven that she was standing in front of was currently spewing smoke, and whatever was inside is was clearly not fit to be eaten.

Konan sighed and tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear- she had apparently decided to forgo her usual paper-flower hair ornament, which Kisame thought was a prudent decision, given that if she hadn't, it would most likely be on fire right now.

"I know Nagato, but I'm so sick of having to eat whatever food Deidara and Tobi manage to either buy or steal in the city! All I wanted was to just have one single meal that wasn't either bought from a takeout stand or swiped out of someone's groceries"

Pain sighed. "I know it's rough, but we've traveled this road time and time again- _you can't cook. _None of us can. So, we'll just have to-"

"Uh… excuse me" Valhalla spoke up, raising her hand to get the attention of the room. "I can cook"

Pain turned to look at her, an expression of surprise crossing his face. "You can cook?"

Valhalla nodded. "Cook, clean… anything that needs to be done around a house, really. I was always indoors helping my mother as a kid"

Pain nodded, then stared at nothing in particular as if the refrigerator in the corner of the room had something fascinating written on it. Then he seemed to remember that there were other people present in the room with him, and he shook himself.

"Very well then, Miss…"

"Mizukadu"

"Miss Mizukadu, would you be interested in staying her in Ame as the caretaker of our headquarters?"

Valhalla smiled and turned to look at her sister, then shifted her vision back to Pain. "I would be delighted"

Pain nodded again. "Well then, would you be comfortable with starting your duties now?" he gestured toward the (still slightly smoking) stove.

Valhalla nodded. "I'll get right on it, Leader-sama" stepping forward, she took the apron that Konan was holding out to her and put it on, then began pulling pots and pans out of one of the slightly singed cupboards hanging on the kitchen walls.

"Well, my dear, does that fulfill you desires?" Pain asked Seyeon, slightly raising one eyebrow.

Seyeon smiled back at him. "That suits me perfectly, Leader-sama"

That night, when Valhalla's duties were done for the day, she and Seyeon changed into their pajamas and sat down together in the room they now shared.

"So… Val… how did you survive? I saw you run into the house, and then it…" Seyeon swallowed, unable to continue.

Valhalla sighed. "When I saw those kunai flying at me, a recognized the tags attached to them from sketches I had seen in Father's workshop; so, when I ran inside, I threw myself down the staircase into the basement and braced myself.

"I heard a massive blast, and a shower of flaming wood burst through the doorway and nearly landed on me. At that point, I doused myself with a bucket of water I found in the basement and ran back up the stairs, dodging flaming boards and falling chunks of masonry.

"When I got outside, I was just in time to see those men lift you up and take you away. I cried when I saw it, I'm not going to lie. You were the only family I had left now, and that was why I realized that I couldn't let anything happen to you; I had to be you big sister more than ever now.

"So I followed the men. They obviously thought they were home free, so they just casually made their way back to Kirigakure, then entered a large, nondescript building- you know, one of those big warehouse-type places no one really pays attention to. At this point, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to get in, so I decided it was time to play dirty.

Seyeon looked quizzically at her. She sighed. "You remember that boyfriend I had a few years ago who wound up being a total conman?"

Valhalla winced as her sister's mouth dropped open. "You didn't"

"Yeah, I went to him. I asked him if there was any way he could get me into that building, and keep me there. He said he could, but his fees for that kind of thing were way too far out of my price range.

"I went back to the burned-out shell of our house and found out that the bastards had taken our parents bodies somewhere, but I knew I couldn't dwell on that. I salvaged all I could of my life's savings from my room, then spent two months working at any job I could find to replace the money that I'd lost.

"Finally, I went back to him and paid for him to insert me. I didn't want to- those whole two months, I felt sick about how I was dealing with this guy again. But, I just had to remember that I was doing it for you. That was what kept me going.

"You know what happened, though, after I had finally paid him? He looked me straight in the eye and said 'I hope you get your sister back'

"I hugged him. I hugged him, and I didn't let go for a good few minutes. I really needed someone to hug right there. I realized that he wasn't a complete scumbag; he still had a heart buried under that cheating exterior.

"Then, I was in. And I was alone.

"For a year and a half I planned, I plotted, and I waited for an opportunity to set you free. But nothing different ever happened; every day the routine was perfect, impenetrable, and I had no hope of breaking you out.

"By the time two years had passed, I was hoping for a miracle. And apparently, you're something of a miracle worker. One day, just as I was walking my rounds, I was attacked by someone who dropped down from the ceiling on top of me- and when I woke up, they clearly weren't interested in what I had to say"

Seyeon, who had been frowning up until this point, gave her a puzzled look. Suddenly, it hit her, and she gasped and covered her mouth.

* * *

Downstairs, Pain beckoned to Kisame, who stood up from his arm wrestling match with Kakuzu.

_Thank god _he thought. _One arm is nowhere near enough for that torture._

"What is it, Leader-sama?"

* * *

Seyeon stared (figuratively) at Valhalla, her face a mask of shock.

"It was you. You were the one who I attacked, and stole their uniform, and tied up and left in my cell… oh my god!"

Seyeon threw herself onto the floor, her head in her hands. And for the second time that day, if she could cry, she would have.

"Val… I'm so sorry… what have I done?"

Her sister stepped off of her bed and sat down beside her, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"No, it's alright- come on, Mari- it's okay! I was only stuck for about ten minutes; after that, another guard found me and let me loose. By that time, you were already long gone, and the project director was not happy"

Seyeon sniffed. "So… what happened then?"

"Well, without you, the project couldn't go on, so all of the guards were let go, me included"

Seyeon frowned despite herself. "Just like that?"

"The project heads knew that without you there, they would just be paying a thousand guards to guard an empty building. So, after I left, I prayed to Kami that you had made it out safely. I've spent the last week traveling, trying to find any clue or sign of you. Finally, I read a news article that said a man had been attacked by a "wild girl", who had blue skin and no eyes, in between Kirigakure and Amegakure. In a village near there, I was told at a hospital that a similar-looking girl broke out of the hospital after being visited two Akatsuki members. So, I put two and two together and came up with this"

Seyeon was silent for a moment as she let the new information wash over her. Finally, she struggled to make herself speak.

"Val… I'm so sorry…"

"Mar- or Seyeon, is it? - _I'm _the one who shouldbe sorry. My job as your older sister is to protect you, and I failed. I've been failing at my job for the past two years"

Seyeon looked at her sister, then smiled. "Well… here's where you can start making up for it"

Valhalla breathed a huge sigh of relief, then helped Seyeon into her bed. "Hey… I'll make you your favourite for breakfast tomorrow"

Seyeon grinned. "You always know how to cheer me up"

Valhalla laughed, and the two girls settled down into their beds.

"Goodnight Val"

"Goodnight, Seyeon"

* * *

**Oh. My. GOD. **

**It has been WAAAAAY too long since I last updated my stories. I am so sorry- I'll start again immediately. In fact, this was just what I needed to get the creative juices flowing again. **

**Please review **


	8. Gundams?

**The setting and characters in the story are the property of Masashi Kishimoto, with the exception of Seyeon. The plot is the property of myself.**

* * *

The sun was rising over the Hidden Rain Village, causing long shafts of light to strike the towering spires that dotted the cities horizon. The ground was striped with the shadows of these towers, and the earliest risers were walking about through the simulated night to day, cloaks and hoods drawn around them to protect from the omnipresent rain that fell from the sky over Amegakure and the surrounding area.

Seyeon pulled herself out of a deep sleep; the deepest, most calming sleep she had experienced in two years. Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, she listened for a few seconds and heard the slow, even breathing of her sister in the bed beside her. Satisfied that all was well, she slid out of bed and guided herself to the small chest in the corner of the drab, gray room.

Reaching into one of the mahogany drawers, she withdrew a very plain black set of ladies underwear, followed by a pair of black silk pants and a sleeveless v-neck shirt. Shrugging off the oversized shirt she had worn to sleep, she quickly pulled on the panties and bra, buckling it in between her shoulder blades. The pants soon followed.

Pulling on the shirt, she stepped through the door of the room she now shared with her sister, intent on making her way down to one of the tower's many kitchens and hopefully finding something to stave the ferocious hunger that had instilled itself in her after the events of the previous day.

Walking down the hallway, her mind soon began to drift. At first, she thought of her sister, sleeping upstairs, and how they had finally been reunited. Her thoughts smoothly drifted toward Kisame, as she found herself wondering idly about where he was from, what he did for fun, and countless other small talk topics she would have to inquire of him if they had a free moment.

Just then, the smell of toasting bread and the sound of cutlery clanging together alerted her to the presence of a nearby kitchen; however, as she drew nearer, she realised that there was someone there already. Someone who she certainly did not want to face this early in the morning.

* * *

Valhalla stirred sleepily, her eyes closed so tightly it looked as though she was in pain. She rolled over onto her side, swiping her hand beside her as if trying to rid herself of a fairly persistent cobweb that had attached itself to her fingers.

"No… mom… please, don't…."

Her muttering grew louder and louder, reaching the point that it could no longer be considered muttering and had become something much more audible.

"Dad… what are they… no… Seyeon's out there…. No, no, NO!"

"Wake up!"

The black-haired young woman sat bolt upright, tiny beads of sweat collecting on her forehead. Breathing heavily, she passed a hand in front of her eyes; then, she started and swung toward the door to see who had woken her from her nightmare.

Standing in the doorway was a giant of a man, at least 6 feet tall. Despite the fact that it was only seven thirty in the morning, he was dressed in full Akatsuki garb, complete with a scratched headband bearing a Whirlpool insignia, as well as a grey hood and black facemask that obscured every feature of his face but his eyes.

Upon seeing his eyes, Valhalla found her gaze captured by his piercing stare. The whites of his eyes were pale, dull red, and the irises bright green. He had no pupils, which just served to make them that much more unsettling.

She swallowed, then forced herself to stop looking, directing her attention toward the door frame beside his head. "Thank you" she muttered.

He didn't move. "What exactly just happened?"

She frowned at him, a tiny crease forming in between her eyebrows. "If you must know… it was a nightmare"

He paused, looking at her with the same air of cold, businesslike indifference that she had felt radiating off of him the entire time he had been in the room… but then, something else flashed in his eyes; something almost too quick to see, but she caught it.

He sighed, rubbed his eyes, then looked back at her again. This time, his extraordinary eyes looked noticeably fatigued, and his stiff aura had faded significantly.

"I don't suppose you had time for proper introductions when you arrived yesterday, so… my name is Kakuzu. Glad to make your acquaintance" He extended his hand, and Valhalla saw that his wrist was adorned with small black stitches.

Cautiously, she took it, then when he didn't break her wrist or otherwise cause her harm, she shook his hand. "I'm Valhalla"

He nodded slowly. "Well, Miss Valhalla, I've been away performing my… duties all night, and I'm somewhat tired. But, if you would like, I can escort you to the main kitchen downstairs, and you can begin your duties for the day"

Valhalla smiled faintly; she was getting the feeling that this man- Kakuzu- wasn't used to performing favours. As such, she took the offer as a sign of kindness.

"Thank you, I'd like that" she said, rummaging through the small luggage she had brought with her and withdrawing a cream-coloured bundle. As he turned to lead her out, she placed a hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

She smiled again. "Please… call me Val."

* * *

Seyeon slowly walked into the kitchen and found herself face to face with Itachi Uchiha.

The dark-haired ninja gazed silently at her impassively, letting no semblance of emotion leak into his expression. She turned away, willing herself to ignore him, to get some food and leave so that she wouldn't have to deal with his piercing stare.

Seyeon opened the refrigerator and leaned in, then recoiled at the reek that escaped it once the door was levelled open. Something unidentifiable was sitting on the top shelf, now no more than a mass of pungent green mould.

Seyeon turned around, clutching her mouth to avoid emptying her stomach of its contents, only to realize that Itachi hadn't moved, and was still watching her. Now, however, his gaze had taken on a slightly condescending air. This, combined with the early hour, was all that it took to infuriate the eyeless Mist ninja.

She rounded on him. "Listen, pretty boy- I don't care how amazing you think you are, or how precious your eyes may be; you can stop looking at me like I'm nothing but a stain on-"

Without warning, Itachi grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.

"Never… _never… _speak to me like that." he whispered, his voice taking on a frighteningly dangerous tone. I will not allow it." As he spoke, a kunai slid out of his sleeve, glinting ominously in the light.

Seyeon heard the sliding sound of the knife being withdrawn and moved to scream, but Itachi pressed his hand over her mouth, muffling her voice. Immediately, he cursed slightly as the girl's sharp, pointed teeth sliced into his palm.

"You little bitch!" he hissed, moving his hand up to her throat.

Seyeon writhed desperately in his grip, but his deceptive strength was too much for her.

_Shit… he`s going to kill me. He really means it._

She heard the door open. "What the fuck?"

Itachi's head spun to face the door, but he was too slow to stop Hidan from taking three long strides across the room and smashing his fist into the side of his head. Itachi dropped Seyeon, letting her fall against the wall. He spun to face Hidan, as the immortal thrust his hidden spear at his face.

Itachi blocked the spear and slashed out with his own kunai, slicing a gash across Hidan's face.

"You son of a bitch! What the hell do you think you were doing, trying to kill one of us, here?" Hidan roared, swiping at Itachi with increasing ferocity.

Itachi leaped back, blood dripping steadily out of his palm where Seyeon's teeth had removed a chunk of the flesh. He looked up slowly, causing Seyeon and Hidan to both start; there was a rage burning in Itachi's eyes that Hidan had never seen before, in all of the years he had been a part of the organization.

Itachi's eyes narrowed, his Sharingan slowly shifting form into the shurikenlike Mangekyo. However, just as Hidan launched an attempt to retaliate, the Uchiha's eyes relapsed into their default Sharingan state, and he left the room without a word.

Seyeon let out a breath that she wasn't aware that she had begun to hold, massaging her bruised neck where Itachi's cold fingers had gripped it. She looked at Hidan, who was looking out the door, still looking slightly shell-shocked.

"Thank you…" she said, not quite sure what else to say, as she took a seat at the table.

The silver-haired ninja shook his head a few times, then moved to the fridge and opened it. "Don't worry about it" he said, reaching in. "I really cannot stand that Uchiha bastard." He closed the fridge door, walking over to the table carrying the plate of mouldy food that Seyeon had passed over for fear of her life.

Sitting down at the table, he poked at the mass of putrid lumps, looking for any edible bits that might have stayed untarnished by the mould. Seyeon wrinkled her nose in disgust, but Hidan simply stabbed at it with his fork before simply tossing it at the sink.

"This is bullshit. Why do we never have any decent food to eat around here? Sometimes I wish Leader-sama would let me just kidnap a maid or something."

Seyeon shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well… maybe you, didn't know, but Pain- er, Leader-sama- just hired my sister to act as a sort of housekeeper for the tower."

Hidan looked up, interested. "Really? Huh… maybe we'll get some decent fucking food in this shithole for a change." Seyeon nodded slowly, just as the door opened again.

Valhalla walked in, followed by the imposing figure of Kakuzu. She saw Seyeon sitting at the table and smiled warmly, glad that they were finally together in the same building again.

Seyeon swung around. "Who's there?"

Kakuzu sat down heavily at the table beside her. "It's Kakuzu- I brought your sister down so that she could start her duties." Valhalla nodded.

"Yes, it was very nice of him." Kakuzu grunted, then stood up and stretched.

"Well, as much as I hate to leave the party, I have to sleep or I may lose control of myself, which is something that I never want to happen again." Hidan shuddered slightly as the previously-repressed memory forced its way back to the surface.

Kakuzu turned and walked to the door, opening it and stepping through.

"Kakuzu!" Valhalla called after him. The huge man turned back around as she continued. "I'll talk to you again sometime."

Kakuzu nodded. "Sure, why not. I'd like that."

Hidan snorted in derisive amusement. Then, for the first time, he looked up at Valhalla.

His jaw dropped.

Seyeon saw the expression on his face and frowned, her forehead creasing. "Hidan… are you alright?" Hidan ignored her and stood up, sliding over to stand beside Valhalla.

"Hello, gorgeous… I'm Hidan." He grinned slyly, as Valhalla began unfolding the worn, faded apron that she had brought down from her room.

She looked at him. "Hello, nice to meet you." She said, clearly not too interested in continuing the conversation.

He smirked and turned toward her. "You know…. I've always had a soft spot for a woman in an apron…" He leaned in close to her.

The dark-haired young woman leaned away in response, wrinkling her nose. "Uh huh. That's really interesting. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to work." As she spoke, Valhalla pulled the apron on over her head, knotting the strings behind her waist.

Hidan looked at her. "Come on… you know you won't be able to resist this forever." He flexed his arm, showing off his biceps. However, this seemed to simply aggravate Valhalla.

"Sorry, muscles." She pushed him lightly out of the way. "That sort of thing might fly with the ladies you find in fishing villages while you're on raids, who probably think that you'll murder their entire family if they don't play along, but it's not going to work here. Go play with your Gundams."

Hidan looked at her incredulously. "Seriously? That was fucking cold. You're a bitch." He looked at her out of the corner out of his eye. "Fine then. You want to play hard to fucking get? Fine. I'll change your mind sooner or later." And he left, muttering something that sounded like "Fuck Gundams."

Seyeon whistled. "Wow, I doubt he'll be trying that again for a long while."

Valhalla sighed. "I sure hope so." Turning to the stove, she began to prepare food for the remaining Akatsuki members.

As the other members began filtering in, Val began deftly serving the food to the seated members, sliding plates across the table with an air of skilled precision.

Once newcomers had begun to enter, Seyeon kept listening for Kisame's distinctive voice; however, it never came. She heard Konan, Itachi, Hidan, and a high-pitched, bubbly voice that she assumed belonged to Tobi. Kakuzu was no doubt still sleeping, but the question still remained: where were Pain and Kisame?

She turned in the direction of Konan's quiet, graceful voice. "Excuse me… I don't mean to interrupt, but do you know where Leader-sama is? And do you know if Kisame is with him?"

Konan turned to her and shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Pain was talking to him last night, but I haven't seen either of them since."

Seyeon nodded slightly. "Alright, thanks." She said. _It's no big deal_ she told herself. _They probably miss meals here all the time._

But all the same, she couldn't stop a small bubble of anxiety from rising slowly in her stomach.

* * *

On the outskirts of Ame, Pain was walking slowly along the shore of a great river. The rushing water bent to curve around the west of the village, before emptying into the great basin of water that surrounded the Rain Village.

Kisame was looking at his leader with trepidation. "Then they haven't given up."

"No. Somehow, word of Seyeon's arrival has reached the ears of the Mist Village. They have demanded that we turn her over to them, intact, along with the seal for her beast."

Kisame grimaced. "And if we don't?"

Pain closed his eyes. "Then there will be war."

* * *

**Wow, it has been a while.**

**First of all, It's great to be back- obviously, I've been unable to write for a looooooooonnnnnggggg time. School work, break-up, writer's block, etc.**

**But now I'm back, I've got new motivation, and much more free time.**

**And also, about the line where Hidan says he has an apron fetish- that's just me drawing on my own personal experiences. Don't judge me. **

**Read and Review!**


	9. Three Threads

**Obligatory Disclaimer.**

* * *

"Kisame?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever wish you'd done things differently?"

The two rogue Mist ninja were sprinting through the trees, bound for a small village on the outskirts of the land of Fire. Although raids on small settlements were normally not necessary while the bulk of the Akatsuki were situated in Amegakure, they offered a welcome distraction from the dismal surroundings of the city. In addition to this, if one desired privacy from their comrades, these excursions were among the best opportunities to acquire some.

Kisame turned his head slightly toward his partner. "Wish I had done things differently? Every day of my life. But doesn't everyone?"

Seyeon was silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating his words. She nodded; "I suppose that's true. Everyone has their regrets."

Kisame looked back ahead, scanning the approaching ground. The trees were beginning to thin on either side of the pair, expanding his field of vision. A small clearing was approaching fast, and he pointed at it, saying "Let's take a rest. There's a way to go yet, and it's not like we're on a time frame."

Seyeon nodded, and the duo slowed to a halt. Straightening, she slung her hands behind her head, stretching toward the sky.

"Mmm, feels good to stretch. It really takes something out of you, all this running."

Kisame smiled his pointy-toothed grin. "I'd advise you get used to it… we're not much for fancy transportation here in the Akatsuki."

Seyeon returned his smile. "Trust me: Wouldn't trade it for all the fancy transportation in the world."

* * *

In Amegakure, Konan was seated silently on the highest balcony of Pain's Tower. The ever-present rain of the village was gently sprinkling down on her face as she gazed contentedly over the city. Up here, it was so easy to forget the danger of a ninja's life, the constant pain that she potentially faced every day when she did Nagato's bidding. Up here, there was nothing but the view.

Behind her, a soft footstep sounded. She turned slightly to see a familiar orange-haired figure walking toward her. She stood up and turned to face him, the slightest of smiles gracing her pristine face.

"Nagato."

The man in question placed his hands around her waist and leaned forward, their lips meeting. Breaking apart, Konan leaned back slightly to study her lover's- her oldest friend's- eyes. As she did, she noted a slight darkness present in them, and frowned slightly.

"Something is troubling you. What's wrong?"

Pain slowed his eyes and sighed- a more human gesture, the kind that he tended only to display openly when alone with Konan. "This entire situation with the newest recruit. Seyeon, I believe her name is."

Konan nodded. "Difficulties with her sister? Or is it deeper than that?"

Pain shook his head. "Oh, no, I have no problems with her sister, she hasn't caused any strife. I…" He hesitated for a split second, then resolved to continue; he and Konan kept no secrets from each other, and he would not start now. "I've received word from a splinter group of rogue Mist ninja; it seems Seyeon was "affiliated" with a project they were attached to, before they separated from their village. And they are very, VERY interested in having her back."

Konan's frown deepened. "Are they interested enough to invade the city? And if so, are they strong enough in numbers to cause damage?"

Pain shook his head. "I don't know. But my main concern isn't the villagers, I have no doubt we could protect them if the need arose. My concern is Seyeon." Konan looked quizzically at him, and he continued: "She is a member of the organization now, and over the last month since her joining, has proved a valuable asset. She is as much one of us as any other member, and as such, her life being in danger is a very real concern of ours."

Konan nodded. "I see what you mean, but I can't see what our options are. It may come down to us having to defend her, night and day, and I can't imagine any usefulness will come from a member who is unable to leave the tower."

"I know." Pain grimaced. "Which leads me to my second point. I'm reluctant to entertain the thought of removing her from the Akatsuki- either willingly or otherwise- for multiple reasons. Not only is she, as I said, a devoted member of the organization, but there is the matter of Kisame."

Konan had to smile slightly at that. "He has taken quite a liking to her, hasn't he?"

"Indeed. And normally, I don't have any particular concerns over the relationships of my underlings, but I fear his loyalty to the group would be shaken irreparably if Seyeon were to be… removed, shall we say."

Konan stroked her chin thoughtfully. "You're right, of course. This could lead to a difficult to situation."

Pain turned and began walking toward the entrance back to the tower. "I'm retiring to consider our options for the night. If you need me, just come."

Konan nodded, kissing him on the cheek. "I will, Nagato."

* * *

Downstairs, Valhalla was standing in the main kitchen of the tower, silently preparing lunches for the Akatsuki members currently residing in the tower. Humming softly to herself, she stirred the steaming pot of noodles in front of her, so focused on the task at hand that she didn't realize that Kakuzu had entered the room through the door behind her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." Val jumped, nearly splashing the boiling water on the counter as she spun around. Seeing Kakuzu, she sighed in relief.

"Oh, Kakuzu, you startled me." Lifting some of the noodles out of the pot, she checked their size carefully, satisfying herself that they were done. Kakuzu moved closer behind her and looked, although the subtleties of cooking were all but lost on the masked Waterfall ninja.

"My apologies, I didn't realize anyone was down here." Val nodded and turned to him, wiping her hands on her apron as she spoke.

"So, in that case, seeing as you weren't coming to visit me," she asked jokingly "What are you doing down here, anyway?"

Kakuzu shrugged. "I was hungry, I suppose. Also," he added, almost as an afterthought; "The possibility you'd be down here was there, and I wouldn't say I was opposed to the idea of seeing you when I came down."

Valhalla's mouth opened slightly, and she brought her hand up to her face. "I'm… I'm flattered, Kakuzu." She smiled warmly, causing Kakuzu to remove his mask and return her smile. Val turned back to her pot of noodles and prepared two portions, motioning over to the nearby table.

"Well, since no one else is down here to enjoy it- shall we eat?"

Kakuzu shifted in a not-quite-uncomfortable way, but followed. "Yes, I'd like that."

The pair sat down at the table, and for a few moments there was no noise but the sound of silently slurping noodles. Finally, Kakuzu broke the silence:

"So, how have you been holding up here? I know it can be difficult to adjust to."

Val smiled and shook her head slightly. "In all honesty, I'm sure Seyeon had a much harder time. There's not a whole lot of 'getting used to' doing things like cooking and cleaning for me. Of course, you lot are much more difficult to keep up with than anyone I've ever had to clean up after, but it's nothing I can't handle." She tilted her head slightly. "Why do you ask? I mean, I appreciate it, but I hadn't thought you'd have any particular reason to be interested in my doings.

Kakuzu smiled a stitched-mouthed grin. "Well, if that were the case, I wouldn't have come downstairs, would I?" Taking a bite of his noodles, he cleared his throat and continued. "But, in all seriousness… Being a member of this organization causes to one to be very particular about the relationships they form, and the company they keep. Being a rather solitary person myself, I'm even more susceptible to this than a good deal of us, so… I suppose, what I'm trying to say… is.."

Val shot him a confused look, marvelling slightly at the situation; this frightening, nigh-immortal ninja, wanted the world across, stumbling across his words like a love-struck schoolboy. Finally, Kakuzu seemed to recover his tongue, and he managed: "Well, from what I've seen of you since you've arrived, you seem like someone I'd enjoy sharing a friendship with. And that doesn't happen often to me, as you may have guessed from my complete lack of coherence in the matter."

Val's eyes widened slightly, as she noticed Kakuzu's dark skin darkening even more slightly- was he blushing? _Does he….. No. Can't be. _Steeling herself, she smiled warmly at her conversation partner. "Kakuzu, I haven't known many people in my life, and I can count precious few of them among my friends. I think a new one is exactly what I need right about now."

Kakuzu's body visibly relaxed, betraying the anxiety he had been clearly feeling about the encounter; cursing himself for the slip, he ate the last of his noodles and stood up, restoring his mask. Valhalla followed suit, taking both noodle bowls with her and turning toward the sink to begin cleaning. Before she did, though, she heard Kakuzu clear his throat.

"Val?"

"Yes, Kakuzu?"

The masked ninja shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Thank you for the food, and for… putting up with me, I suppose."

Valhalla set the bowls down on the counter behind her and stepped forward; then, she did the last thing Kakuzu expected. Reaching out to him, she wrapped him in a hug. The ex-Waterfall ninja's eyes widened, and he stiffened for a moment before awkwardly wrapping his arms around her as well. "Kakuzu!" she chided him. "No part of that conversation was so unpleasant as to be referred to as 'putting up with'. You're too hard on yourself. And for what it's worth…" Kakuzu glanced down at her as she looked up at him, a dazzling smile on her face. "I enjoyed it very much."

Releasing the girl, Kakuzu nodded. "Thank you, Val. I'll talk to you soon, I'm sure."

As he turned to go, and Valhalla began cleaning to dishes dirtied by their impromptu lunch date, Kakuzu's mask handily hid the fact that a smile had slid across his face; a more genuine smile than had appeared on his face than any in his memory.

* * *

Back en route the Land of Fire, Seyeon and Kisame were travelling across a barren, grassy plain when dark storm clouds began rolling across the sky, like strokes of a giant brush on a pale blue canvas. Before long, rain began falling, first in light drops, but increasing in intensity very quickly. The pair of blue-skinned ninja made a beeline for the edge of the field, coming up to a tall cliff face that bordered the southern side of the plain for miles.

Kisame surveyed the wall of rock, sighting an opening gouged into the rough face. "I vote we set up some shelter there. This doesn't seem to be letting up any, and I'd much rather not be trudging through weather like this for the next few hours."

Seyeon nodded, her head almost completely obscured by the wide-brimmed hat she was wearing in an attempt to stave off the rainwater. "I'm not going to disagree. I hate rain."

As they stepped through the entrance, Kisame couldn't help but prod slightly: "You hate rain? How in the hell did you ever survive in the Land of WATER?"

Seyeon punched his arm. "Ha ha, you're funny. Just because I'm constantly surrounded by it doesn't mean I have to enjoy it, after all." She paused, then a grin slid across her face. "Let's put it this way- do you enjoy Hidan?"

Kisame shook his head, smiling despite himself. "Touché." Stopping a little ways into the cave, the large Mist ninja reached into a pack slung over his shoulder and brought out a bundle of wood. Grimacing slightly, he began picking apart the contents, looking for the driest sticks among the lot. Piling some in the cave, he produced a small piece of flint and scraped it several times with a kunai, showering the wood and papery bark fragments with sparks.

Once the fire had lit, he turned around to see Seyeon seated against the wall of the cave, her expression of thought barely visible in the flickering firelight. Her face swung quickly around to face the opposite cave wall as he looked, but it was obvious that she had been looking at him until that moment. Kisame wondered about this; _What's she up to? Is she… thinking about me?_

_About us?_

Kisame shook himself and returned to tending the fire. After a few moments of silence, he heard his companion's voice from the wall.

"Kisame… can I ask you something?"

He turned to her, slightly apprehensive from the tone of her voice. "Sure, Seyeon… what's up?"

The pale blue of her skin had darkened slightly, although whether it was a trick of the light or her actual face Kisame couldn't tell. "I just… I want to know how you feel about me."

Kisame's heart stopped. This hadn't been anywhere close to where he thought she was going. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he began to speak. "Seyeon, I haven't known you for very long. But in the time I have known you, I've connected with you in a way that I can't ever remember connecting with anyone else. I don't know, I can't tell you for sure, but… I like what we have together. And I think I want it to be more, but I don't know how to go about it."

Seyeon's expression didn't change, but her body tensed slightly, and without another word, Kisame turned back to the fire. A second later, a slight rustle alerted him to movement behind him; however, before he could turn, he felt a pair of this arms wrap around him.

Turning, he saw Seyeon holding his waist, resting her chin against his back. And, in that moment, Kisame, made his decision. Twisting his entire body in her grasp, he leaned forward and locked his lips to hers.

Beneath the concealment of her scratched Mizu headband, Seyeon's empty eye sockets closed as she leaned into Kisame, deepening the kiss. His rough hands held her in the small of her back as she brought her own arms up to rest around his wide shoulders.

After kissing for a few more moments, Seyeon leaned away for a split second and placed her hands on Kisame's chest, pushing him down onto the floor of the cave. Kisame grinned toothily and allowed himself to fall, but as he did so, he reached up and removed Seyeon's robe, revealing the sleeveless shirt and tight black pants that she wore beneath. As Seyeon began kissing him again, he stripped off his own robe, exposing his bare chest.

Seyeon removed herself from Kisame and turned away, squirming out of her shirt and pants, leaving her wearing nothing but a swath of bandages wrapped around her breasts. As she turned back, she realized that Kisame was already laying completely nude on the floor; smiling, she unwrapped the bandages around her chest, allowing herself to be exposed to the light of the fire.

Sliding down on top of Kisame, she placed a hand on his chest and looked into his eyes, a slight expression of uncertainty crossing her face; what if this was too fast? Should she stop? "Kisame…" she breathed; but the Mist ninja placed a finger over her mouth.

"I know what you're going to say, and don't worry. If it's what you want, than this is what I want too." With that, the last vestiges of doubt left Seyeon's heart, and she lowered herself down onto Kisame.

Outside, although the rain poured down cold and wet, the air in the cave was bright and warm; and only partially due to the fire. Inside, two individuals, acutely aware of how short their lives could be, finally threw caution to the winds and made their love real.

* * *

**That was an awfully romance-filled chapter. Sorry if the end scene felt a little awkward, I'm trying to kind of relearn my romance-writing chops, but at the same time, I'm not going anywhere near all the way, since this story isn't supposed to be too sex-focused.**

**As always, please comment and review.**


	10. Invasion

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, any related characters, settings, or stories. I own only Seyeon, and the story you are about to read.**

* * *

It had been almost four weeks since Kisame and Seyeon left for the land of Water, and Valhalla was beginning to get worried. Normally, it was uncharacteristic of her to be as upset as she was, but her relationship with her sister was still one of a pair of siblings who had only had a few short months together, and the overprotective edge hadn't quite faded.

"What's wrong?"

Val shifted slightly to look at the figure of Kakuzu, seated on the low couch beside her. His bright green eyes were viewing her with a sort of apprehensive mixture of concern and curiousity.

She sighed. "I guess I'm just worried about Seyeon, that's all. I mean, I only just found her again after all these years. To have her leave my sight again so soon is just… it's a bit jarring."

Kakuzu nodded. "I'm… I'm sorry you feel that way." he attempted awkwardly to reassure her; given his general path in life, social skills had been somewhat far down the totem pole of importance for the ex-Waterfall ninja.

The dark-haired girl simply sighed and closed her eyes, one hand resting on the couch cushion between her body and Kakuzu's. The now-unmasked man glanced down on it, steeled himself, and slowly placed his own hand over hers. She jumped slightly, then seeing her companion's large, dark hand placed over her own small, pale one, looked at him with surprise.

Kakuzu swallowed briefly; he really hadn't thought this through, but there was no turning back now. "She'll be fine. She's a resourceful, skilled ninja; and not only that, but Kisame would never let anything happen to her."

Valhalla's body relaxed, slightly but visibly, and she flashed Kakuzu a relieved smile. "Thank you, Kakuzu. That means a lot."

The stitched ninja felt an answering smile tug at the organic threads crisscrossing the corners of his own mouth, and for once, he didn't resist.

"You're a good friend, Kakuzu. I'm lucky to have you in my life, and I hope you stay there."

Kakuzu's lime eyes widened, just slightly, but Valhalla didn't notice- yawning widely, she leaned back on the couch, her eyes sliding closed. Then, almost as though she changed her mind, she leaned sideways to come to a rest with her head placed on Kakuzu's shoulder.

And, at that moment, Kakuzu felt something he hadn't felt in a very, very long time. For the first time in his waking memory, he had a strong desire to come back from his next mission; but this time, it wasn't for his own interests.

If he had anything at all to say about it, he would make sure Valhalla's hope remained reality as long as he could.

* * *

Upstairs, one of the many rooms in Pain's tower was burning with bright light. Outside, the solitary window exposing the interior of the room to air was shining against the blackness of the night sky like a low-lying star. Inside, the room was playing host to a gathering consisting of Pain, Konan, Itachi, and Hidan.

Pain was standing at a low table, covered with scrolls. The contents of the scrolls were largely ignored, being scrawled with various lists, invoices, and hurried orders.

"Have there been any reports from Deidara and Tobi?" Pain asked the gathered ninja.

Konan extended a hand and removed a small clay block from her cloak. Placing a hand over it, she narrowed her eyes and drew a small, tightly rolled scroll out of it. "Last correspondence was 7 hours ago. Deidara reports positive on their infiltration of the facility, with minimal casualties as of now. Though", she smiled wryly "He expects that to change very soon."

Pain nodded slowly, his facial expression not betraying his thoughts on the news. "And Tobi?"

Konan studied the scroll again. "Deidara reports that he is serving about as much purpose as he usually does. Although, I feel like that may not be an especially fair assessment, since Tobi is, by nature, much better-suited to this kind of mission than Deidara."

Pain then turned to Itachi. "What news from Kisame?"

The Uchiha's deep black eyes met the pale grey of Pain's Rinnegan. "I received a message this morning; he and Seyeon had completed their intended acquisition raid in the land of Fire, and are in transit to return now; however, ANBU activity has increased drastically due to their actions, and they've been forced to maintain a fairly slow pace on their way back here. Apparently the villagers that remained alive after their entry reacted much more quickly than they intended."

Pain shifted slightly. "Trouble?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, I doubt anyone living in such a small community, especially so far from Konoha, could have hindered them in any significant way. It's more likely that the citizens were fortunate enough to have contact with Leaf ninja very soon after the raid, and their ANBU were stirred up before Kisame and Seyeon could clear the border.

Pain nodded again, the slightest hint of a troubled look beginning to drift across his impassive face; but then, the land of Fire was the last place he'd expect Mist ninja to find Seyeon, and even if they did, it's be a tossup who the Leaf ninja would attack first. Kisame and Seyeon could handle themselves, at least for the time being.

Even as this thought was passing through his head, though, a shock passed through him like a small bolt of lightning. Even as he abruptly turned, to the surprise of the others in the room, the stone floor rippled like a pond and Zetsu's flytrap-like head covering emerged.

"Leader-sama-" Zetsu began before his face had even been exposed. By then, however, Pain had already started toward the door.

"I know. I sense him."

Hidan reached up to scratch his head. "Umm… Mind filling us in one what's going on?"

Pain levelled his gaze at the silver-haired immortal, then turned to look at each of the others in turn.

"A hostile force, nearing the borders of the city. Travelling fast, and displaying enough chakra to level a mountain."

Without another word, the Akatsuki leader strode out the door. "Stay here. Be prepared to defend."

* * *

Seyeon bent over, panting heavily. Kisame stood before her, Samehada extended in his outstretched hand. Sitting on the ground, the shark ninja began carefully wrapping his sword in fresh bandages he removed from his pack. As he wrapped, he surveyed the clearing surrounding him; most of the trees had large chunks ripped out of their trunks, with many of them being ripped from the ground entirely. Deep gouges were torn into the surrounding ground, like deep cracks in a vast eggshell. The air was silent except for the sound of dripping water, as much of the surviving landscape was covered with water, as though a heavy rain had just passed.

Kisame finished wrapping Samehada and looked back at Seyeon with a lopsided grin. "Well, that was… something." Reaching a hand up to his face, he applied a small medicinal packet to a rather wicked-looking gash on his cheek, wincing slightly as he did so.

Seyeon took a deep breath before replying. "'Something' isn't exactly what I'd use to describe the experience, unless the word 'unpleasant' was also involved. You have NO idea how disgusting that felt."

Satisfied that the bleeding of his lacerated face had been stemmed, Kisame walked forward and sat next to his lover. "Well, I'll admit it was impressive, for certain. Also, much less frightening than the first time, since you weren't trying nearly so hard to kill me this time."

Seyeon buried her face in her hands, almost looking like she was trying to stop herself from falling asleep. "It still disturbs me, the fact that I'm willingly doing this; triggering something that was branded to me against my will, and becoming something that's caused me to unintentionally take so many lives."

Kisame, lost for a response, simply placed his hand on her shoulder. Finally, after a few moments of silence, he spoke. "Well… I wouldn't expect you to like it. But it's something you can do, and quite possibly ONLY you can do. If you can learn to control it, then maybe- just maybe- you can use it for your own intentions, and erase what you've done with it in the past."

Seyeon sighed and rested her head on Kisame's chest. "I suppose you're right. When you're like me, I suppose every bit counts."

Kisame stood up suddenly, causing Seyeon to yelp with surprise as her support was removed from under her head. Grumbling slightly, she looked up at his tall, imposing form. "What was that for?"

Kisame just grinned. "Come on, now-" he said, reaching down and grabbing Seyeon's hand. Lifting her up, he set her carefully (more or less) on her feet. "We're going to work on something else, to get your mind off of it. Turning around, he removed two kunai from his belt and stabbed them into the ground, one on either side of a fairly straight line of six small trees.

"So, remember how you told Itachi and I when we first met how you were distributing your chakra throughout your body so you could hide your low levels?"

Seyeon's blue cheeks turned slightly purple at the thought. "Yeah, so?"

Kisame placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face the trees he had marked. "I want you to try this. Take that same chakra, but this time, I want you to focus on emitting it in waves, out of your body."

Seyeon's face was a picture of confusion. "What exactly am I trying to accomplish here? I don't have anywhere near enough chakra to cause any damage to anything."

Kisame smiled again. "I know- in fact, I'm counting on it." He stepped back. "Anyway, give it a try; just focus your chakra in a wave in the direction you're facing, and see what happens.

Seyeon nodded, still with an air of not-quite-understanding, but did as he suggested. Setting her teeth, she faced the direction Kisame indicated. For a second, there was silence. Then, a small rushing sound emerged from her direction, followed by a pale blue aura that was just barely visible as it streaked out of her body.

At first, it seemed as though nothing had happened. Then, just as Seyeon was about to turn and berate Kisame for his failed experiment, she jumped. Her chakra had come back! But not all of it….

And with that, she turned to Kisame, a knowing smile spreading across her face. "I can feel where the chakra came back, and the gaps where it kept on going… you're making me echolocate!"

Kisame laughed. "That was more or less the intention, yeah. I figured, if nothing else, it was worth a try."

Seyeon turned back in the same direction. "Well, interestingly, it seems like it worked…" She then shot Kisame a cheeky smile. "About time you had an idea that worked."

Kisame waved his finger at her. "You'll pay for that, pretty soon. But first, time for an acid test. I placed two kunai on the ground, directly in front of you. Between them is a line of trees." He paused, almost as though he was waiting for dramatic effect in asking his question. "How many trees are there?"

Seyeon frowned, ever so slightly, then took a deep breath. Focusing, she sent multiple chakra waves in the indicated direction, carefully measuring her pace to ensure she didn't exhaust her meager supply of chakra. It took significant concentration, reading the returning chakra waves with her hypersensitive sense of touch and compiling them into a rough image in her mind, but finally…

A satisfied grin appeared on her face. "Six."

Kisame clapped. "Excellent! You got it!" He stepped toward the blue-skinned girl. "So it's nowhere near precise enough to identify extremely small objects, but with time… who knows?"

Seyeon felt a genuine warmth spreading through her body. "Thank you, Kisame."

Kisame closed the distance between them, coming to a rest right in front of her. "Don't thank me just yet…" he said, his smile turning slightly devilish. "Like I said, you have to pay for that comment about my ideas."

Without warning, he leapt forward, tackling Seyeon to the ground. With a surprised cry she fell back and hit the ground, Kisame landing on top of her.

"Fuck you Kisammmmeeeeeee!"

* * *

Pain was running across the vast body of water surrounding the Hidden Rain Village, his chakra-encased feet making no sound as they padded across choppy water. The ever-present rain was running down his face and cloak, but he took no notice, as he always did. His mind was focused on his destination; a dark figure situated just north of Amegakure.

The Akatsuki leader came to a halt before the figure, studying them intently. The other person was clad in a long brown cloak and hood, shrouding their identity completely; however, their general bulk made Pain sure that the figure was male.

Pain straightened and stared silently at the man. For a moment, there was no sound but the light pattering of rain against the water. Then, without warning, the figure raised a pair of gloved hands and removed their hood.

The man's face was unremarkable, with a defined jawline and a head of slicked-back, silver hair. The one defining feature was a polished black metal triangle with rounded corners that seemed to be set into his left eye socket. A few mysterious symbols were engraved into its surface, but as for its purpose, Pain had no means of determining what it was used for.

"Speak." Pain said, finally breaking the silence. When the man gave no reply, he continued. "You are of the Hidden Mist Village. You are pursuing a member of my organization, for what intentions I can't know. However, when we last spoke- or, at least, one spoke on behalf of you- you threatened us with war. And the Hidden Rain Village does not take such propositions lightly."

The man studied Pain's emotionless face for a few seconds, then smiled crookedly. "Firstly, as to my identity… my name is Chira, of the Mist. I don't expect ya to have heard of me, most people haven't; in fact, it happens to be part of my job that they don't." The man spoke with a generally unkempt, unprofessional air, but Pain wasn't fooled; clearly, there was more to him than meets the eye. "The girl I'm lookin' for is property of a top-secret experiment being performed by Kirigakure, so we're here to take her back, if you understand my meaning."

Pain wasn't impressed. "I'm afraid that whatever her past, that girl is now a member of the Akatsuki, and no longer related in any way to your project- if such a project even remains under the "official" jurisdiction of the Mist, which I doubt. I advise that you go on your way and forget you ever came, before I am forced to do something you will not live to regret."

The Mist ninja's face darkened and he grinned dangerously. "To be honest, ah hoped you'd say something like that. Now you've rightfully earned what my friends are about to do."

Pain's eyes widened as he sensed multiple chakras emerging, seemingly from nowhere, in the direction of Ame. Even as he turned around, the landscape shook, and a large explosion shook the tower.

_Under the water! They hid their chakras…. _Pain cursed his own stupidity, realizing far too late how his adversaries had managed to get so close to his city without being detected. He turned to make his way back-

And swung his arm, almost too fast to see, a pointed black rod extending from his sleeve.

_Clang!_

Chira had leapt toward him, his hand extended; Pain had only just acted in time to block the attack with one of his chakra weapons. However, he realized with a start that the Mist nin wasn't carrying any blade; his own hand had turned dull and grey, and had clanged against Pain's weapon with the sound of metal clashing metal.

The surprise must have showed on Pain's face, because Chira laughed suddenly. "Never seen anything like this, have ya?" His other arm swung around toward Pain's head, the edge of his arm sharpening and tearing through the sleeve of his cloak.

Pain leapt backward and landed a few meters away. He realized now that there was no conceivable way to return to Ame with this foe at his back.

And, to be perfectly honest with himself… he was more than willing to battle this particular ninja himself.

_Konan and the others can hold the tower. This one… this one is mine._

In front of him, Chira had shed his cloak, revealing that both of his bare arms had become silver and bladed.

"They say you're a god in this here little city of yours. I've always wondered what it would feel like to kill a god."

Pain readied himself. "Come, then. Now you truly will not live to regret your decision."

* * *

**One more down….**

**Reviews are appreciated**


	11. Confronted By the Past

**Ownership of Naruto and all related properties is not mine.**

* * *

A loud crash sounded above Kakuzu's room, where he and Valhalla were sharing each other's company. Frowning beneath his mask, Kakuzu stood up from his bed, his bright green gaze sliding upwards toward the sound, as though his brilliant eyes could pierce the stone ceiling and see the source of the disturbance.

"What was that?" Valhalla asked, her eyes widening worriedly. Clutching her hands close to her chest, she sat cross-legged on the bed beside where Kakuzu was seated until recently.

Kakuzu looked over at her. "I don't know. I'm going to check it out." Bending down slightly toward her, he gripped her shoulder, gently but firmly. "Stay here, alright? Keep the door locked, do not open it until you hear me come back."

Val nodded, her skin paling to the colour of spoiled milk. Kakuzu ran his hand down her face, hoping that his touch was more reassuring to her than his current mindset was to himself. If the tower was under attack, the invaders most likely knew exactly what they were looking for; no one with even the slightest knowledge of the Hidden Rain Village would dare to strike at Pain's tower without dire need.

Turning, Kakuzu stepped through his door, closing it and locking it securely behind him. Heading toward the stairs, every sense alert and scanning his surroundings for any possible inconsistency in the tower.

Reaching the landing of the floor above, he met Tobi and Hidan. Hidan's scythe was ready in his hands, his violet eyes flicking back and forth between the nearby windows and the door to the upper reaches of the tower.

"What's going on?" Kakuzu asked as he mounted the last stair, making a mental count of the patrons currently within the tower; he, Tobi, and Hidan were here, Val was safe in his room, Kisame and Seyeon were out on a raid, Konan was most likely upstairs. Deidara, Zetsu and Itachi were nowhere to be seen.

Hidan turned to face his partner. "A pretty fucking big blast from upstairs. So far, there's been no contact, at least from this end. With Konan upstairs, though, who knows what kind of shit if going down up there."

Tobi walked over to one of the walls, placing a gloved hand on it. Kakuzu noted that the masked ninja hadn't spoken since he'd arrived on the floor; Tobi had a habit of quieting down significantly when danger was immediately present. Then, without warning, he stepped through the wall and disappeared.

Hidan started slightly, then groaned. "Well, that's fucking that. There's a chance he'll never come back alive, but…."

Kakuzu started toward the door, Hidan behind him. "I wouldn't worry. Tobi's shown a surprising tenacity when it comes to being in the middle of situations he absolutely should not survive, then surviving anyway." The two immortals began climbing another flight of stairs, steeling themselves for whatever they might find at the top. However, while walking, Kakuzu felt a jolt. Stopping dead in his tracks, his was only dimly aware of Hidan's questioning glance. "The fuck is wrong with you?"

Kakuzu didn't immediately answer. Paralyzing fear had gripped him at what he had just felt: a wave of shock from the direction of his room, rapidly devolving into mindless terror. A terror that he had no doubt had originated in Val's mind.

Turning immediately, Kakuzu headed back downstairs. "I have something to take care of. Find out what's going on; if we're being invaded, kill as many as you can."

Hidan grinned. "I thought you'd never ask." The immortal cracked his knuckles, then ran up the stairs. Kakuzu sped across the landing and down the stairs to the living quarters, terror growing in his mind.

_No. Please, no._

* * *

*c_lang, clang!*_

Pain skidded to a halt on the surface of the lake, one arm extended and tightly gripping his spear. Before him, Chira was panting heavily, both of his arms coated in shiny, dark grey metal up the shoulders. His face was contorted with rage, flecks of blood speckled across his forehead and chest.

Pain tilted his head to once side. "Well? Have you had enough yet?"

Chira's angry visage twisted suddenly into a murderous grin. "Oh, trust me… I ain't NEVER backed down from a fight before, and I don't intend ta… at least, not until we got what we came for." Without warning, his chakra spiked, a pulse of energy issued from his body. Pain took a step back, shielding his eyes from the sudden brightness. When he uncovered his eyes, Chira was still standing before him; however, his form had changed drastically.

His entire body was metal now, His grey hair freed from its neat-looking slicked-back state, flowing down his back to form a long river of assorted, wicked-looking blades. His hands were gone entirely, replaced by a pair of jagged lengths of metal. Bracing his feet against the water, he leapt with a speed that surprised even Pain, and he was forced to dodge out of the way. Spinning back around to face his foe, Pain discovered that Chira was already behind him again.

Chira's death grin broadened as he thrust both of his bladed hands backwards.

_Steel Style: Crossing Blades Jutsu!_

Slicing viciously forward, Chira's hands enveloped themselves in a second coating of metal, this one a dazzling silver, almost white in its brilliance. Pain brought up his spear to block the strike, when he received a shock; the two blades simply passed through his blade, then through his chest, without any visible damage.

_A diversion…!_

Pain's hands were now both firmly in front of his upper chest, blocking Chira's non-effective blade strike. With a howl of victory, Chira screamed:

_Steel Style: Hidden Blade Jutsu!_

With incredible speed, a point of metal burst from Chira's chest, burying itself in Pain's stomach. The Akatsuki leader's Rinnegan widened as he felt the cold metal burst out of his back, protruding out of his flesh, streaming with blood.

Chira laughed manically. "So much for your godliness, Rain master!" Morphing one of his blades back into the shape of a hand, the mist ninja pushed Pain's unresponsive body off of his own. Smiling at his fallen foe, Chira spit on his corpse before turning to face the far-off Rain village, his metal coating receding off of his body until he was fully flesh once again.

*_SHUNK*_

Without warning, his eyes widened. Looking down in confusion, Chira gasped. A massive, saw-edged blade had forced its way through his sternum, rending his bones and puncturing one lung on its way through. Even as Chira attempted to turn his head to identify this new threat, a familiar voice hissed in his ear.

"You thought you had the strength to kill a God. But no one can truly kill the divine."

Chira's jaw dropped, blood beginning to stream from his mouth in small rivers, like rain dripping down the surface of a window. Behind him, a bald-headed man wearing an Akatsuki cloak had his hand against the Mist ninja's back. His face was riddled with piercings, but his most defining feature was his steel-grey, ringed eyes.

"You…! But… HOW!?" Chira managed with difficulty.

Pain looked at him, almost with pity, in the way that a scientist may look at a lab animal that had caught itself in a trap, and was exhausting its life attempting a foolish escape. "I told you, you would not live to regret the decision you made."

Chira coughed, blood spurting out and mixing with the foamy water of the lake beneath their feet. A third Pain stepped around to the body of the first, this one with a much broader jawline and a long shock of messy, stood up hair. Kneeling down beside the dead Pain, he placed a hand on his shoulder and did something Chira was unable to see. However, seconds later, the dead Pain stood and looked at Chira impassively.

Chira closed his mouth, his face a picture of disbelief. Then, without warning, he began to laugh.

"Heh heh… heh heh heh ha ha HA HA HA HA!"

Chira laughed and laughed, his laughter increasing in volume as his body was wracked with spasms, the effort draining away his life.

"You…. you really are a hell of an opponent. I never stood a damn chance, did I?"

Pain stepped before him, his black chakra spear sliding silently out of his sleeve. Raising one arm, Pain directed his spear at Chira's heart.

"No, you never did. Now die."

* * *

Kakuzu raced down the hallway of doors, barely aware of the explosions and the sound of metal clanging on metal from above him. Finally arriving at his room, he thrust the door open.

A tall man stood before him, his back turned. His arm was extended in front of him, gripping a lifeless Valhalla by her throat. Angry red welts had sprung up on her neck, where this Mist ninja's fingers had dug in to her flesh.

Kakuzu felt white-hot anger flooding through him, and his flesh began to writhe, his stitches bursting out of every opening in his body, filling the room with long, hair-like fibres. The strands reached toward the stranger with blinding speed, wrenching him from Valhalla. His fingers loosened, dropping the unresponsive girl to the ground.

A few stray tendrils guided her lightly to the bed as more and more began gripping the tall, thin Mist ninja, dragging him across the room to Kakuzu. Once he reached the masked Waterfall ninja, Kakuzu reached out one arm and grabbed his shoulder. His voice was like ice as he spoke to his foe's back:

"You just made the last mistake you will ever make."

The Mist ninja slowly turned to face Kakuzu, his head rotating 180 degrees on his neck like some demented owl. Kakuzu saw that the front of his head was nothing but a seamless surface of flesh; no facial features could be seen upon it. Filled with repulsion, Kakuzu drew his hand back to deliver a killing blow.

Suddenly, the ninja's entire face split lengthwise, revealing a gaping mouth lined with large, triangular teeth. A slick black tongue shot out, adorned with a shiny barb at the very end. The ninja's tongue shot forward and sunk into Kakuzu's chest, directly into his heart.

Kakuzu's green eyes widened, and he slowly looked down at the glistening black tongue protruding out of his chest. The Mist ninja hissed, and without warning, he spoke.

"You thought you had bested me…. Kiroha, the Faceless Demon of the Mist! Die now, failed rescuer; with the knowledge that the information we seek has already been passed on to others, to act on."

Kakuzu's gaze remained downward for a few seconds. Then, without warning, his brown hand grabbed Kiroha's tongue. The slender ninja exclaimed in pain, making a repulsive choking noise. Kakuzu looked upward, and there was a fire burning in his eyes that would have made Pain himself step backward.

"You hit one. Too bad you won't have a chance at the other four."

The brown-skinned Akatsuki pulled with incredible strength, wrenching Kiroha's tongue from his mouth. A fountain of black blood spurted out from between his teeth, and he screamed; a long, high-pitched, piercing scream. Crumpling to the ground, he flailed for a moment as he felt his blood draining at an alarming rate, trying hopelessly to stem the tide of blood. With a final gasp, he coughed, spurting a last jet of blood across the wall. Then, he breathed no more.

Kakuzu breathed, bringing his threads back into his body. Then, he rushed to his bed, placing a hand under Valhalla's prostate head.

"Val… oh god, please wake up. _Please!"_

For a moment, there was silence. Then, a breath of air touched Kakuzu's face, and the girl's eyes fluttered open. And Kakuzu, who hadn't shown any kind of affection for anyone in his centuries-old memory, held her like a small child.

"It's okay…. it's okay."

Val's eyes focused on Kakuzu as her senses returned to her, and she sat bolt upright. "Oh god! Kakuzu! We need to help Seyeon! They want her… they know… I told them…" He voice trailed off, as a combination of the pain of her bruised throat and her betrayal of her sister's whereabouts caused her eyes to overflow with tears. She buried her face in Kakuzu's shoulder, shaking with unsuccessfully supressed tears.

Kakuzu's eyes looked past her at the wall… Seyeon and Kisame were out there, alone, with no idea what was coming. And if what Kiroha had said about already having relayed their location was true….

Kakuzu clenched his fist, then removed his mask. "Zetsu! ZETSU!"

The ground beside him rippled, and a familiar dual-coloured head emerged. Ignoring the blood surrounding him and the body of Kiroha, Zetsu focused on Kakuzu.

"What is it?" **"Make it quick. Hell's breaking loose. The others are stemming the assault, but there are a lot of them."**

Kakuzu shook his head, a dart of ice piercing him. "No. The invaders will be leaving soon. They know what they came for." He looked Zetsu dead in the eyes. "You have to go. Find Kisame and Seyeon."

"They need our help."

* * *

Outside, Pain looked appraisingly at Chira's bowed head a second longer, then moved to plunge his blade into his foe's neck. One swift stroke-

And, without warning, Chira was gone.

Pain started, and the body no longer holding Chira's body swung around. A few metres away, a young man stood on the water. His left arm was wrapped around Chira's bloody form, supporting him, as his right hand was placed over the other's heaving, bloody chest. A pale green glow surrounded it, and before Pain's very eyes, his flesh began to reknit itself, bone regrowing with sickening cracking sounds.

_This… this is beyond medical ninjutsu. This boy is reversing the damage as though it had never occurred._

Chira's head, hanging from his shoulders, looked up, and he smiled. "Well, it's been fun, Mr. Rain God. But, we've got what we came for… or, should I say, we know where to find it, now."

Pain's eyes widened, and he leaped forward. However, a few feet away from Chira and his companion, he was stopped by an unseen force, as strong as steel, which repelled him backwards. The young man healing Chira's injuries looked at him, his eyes glowing with a pale green light, as a hazy shell of similarly-coloured energy appeared around the two of them. Then, with one last mocking laugh from Chira, they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Pain stood looking at the spot they had occupied for another half of a second, then turned abruptly. Forming three hand signs in quick succession, he and his two counterparts immediately transported to the balcony of the tower. Konan, Deidara, Hidan, and Itachi were all standing on the outside, with the appearance of those who had been fighting, only to have their opponents removed without warning.

Konan looked at Pain with confusion. "Leader-sama? What's happening?"

Pain looked at her, and the look on his face sent chills down her spine.

"They want Seyeon. And they know where to find her."

* * *

Kisame was resting inside the tent he and Seyeon shared, enjoying a few moment of peace before Seyeon returned and they started back on the road to Amegakure again. Pausing for a moment, he focused his chakra sense outside the canvas walls of the tent, picking up Seyeon's thin chakra a few metres away; content that nothing was wrong, he dozed off again.

Suddenly, a brief flicker caught his attention. Opening one eye, he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Stepping outside the tent, he looked to see if Seyeon was within visual range. When he realized she wasn't, he began heading in her direction, his worry deepening.

He reached a small clearing and found Seyeon standing there, a bucket of water sitting half-full beside her, overturned and spilling its forgotten contents across the grassy soil. Seyeon was frowning slightly, a mixture of concentration and concern battling for precedence on her face.

"Seyeon? What is it?"

She turned to his voice, her frown deepening. "I don't know exactly, but… something's not right. All of the wildlife I've been hearing has stopped, everything's gone quiet. It hasn't been completely quiet since we've arrived."

Kisame looked around, a sense of apprehension growing in the pit of his stomach. Trying to appear casual, he reached behind him and gripped Samehada's handle, feeling its reassuring heft as he swung it in front of him. He stretched his sense to its limit, trying to locate the source of the unease he was feeling, but he couldn't.

Then, without warning, he reached out and grabbed Seyeon, pulling her behind him. "Get down!" he bellowed, bringing Samehada into a defensive stance just quick enough to block a flurry of kunai that blazed toward the eyeless girl from the trees. Grunting as several of the blades found a mark in the flesh of his arms and chest, he scanned the area, aware of multiple chakras converging on their position.

Seyeon inhaled sharply. "Kisame? Someone's coming."

Kisame's face was grim. "I know."

With a crash, a group of cloaked figures emerged from the undergrowth, landing in formation around the pair. Seyeon swung around so that she and Kisame were standing back-to-back, a ring of masked enemy ninja surrounding them. Kisame was just about to select his first opponent and tear him limb from limb, when another figure walked slowly into the clearing out of the shadows of the trees. Another smaller figure was walking slightly behind him, to his right.

"It's been far too long, Marisha."

Seyeon started violently, swinging toward the voice. "You!" her voice caught in her throat, fear choking her words.

Chira smiled. "Yes, Seyeon. Me." He paused, surveying the pair. "I've come about the curse mark that the Mist branded onto you, so long ago: we want it back."

* * *

**Stay tuned!**


	12. Tipping Point

**Obligatory Disclaimer**

* * *

Kisame stood panting beside Seyeon, blood dripping down his face and running in streaks to pool at the points of Samehada, where it rested on the gore-slick ground. Seyeon, for her own part, showed no signs of the fatigue of battle, but her mouth was set in a hard line, the pale blue of her face dulled to a lightly tinged grey.

All around the pair, the bodies of Mist ninja were piled upon each other like fallen leaves; a few twitched in the last throes of death, but most had already grown cold and lifeless. Then, the sound of quiet applause reached their ears.

"Excellent." Chira clapped softly, an almost hungry look adorning his face. "You've become quite a proficient fighter since your…. stay with us, Seyeon." His eyes glittered. "And yet… No sign of the 'gift' we gave to you. Your ability to hold back the transformation must have strengthened considerably. Congratulations! "

He closed his eyes and sighed, his shoulders raised in a kind of half-shrug. "That simply won't do, will it?" He raised a hand and swept it forward, gesturing from the host of ninja remaining behind him to the pair of Akatsuki ninja. "Take them."

The horde charged, converging on Kisame and Seyeon from all sides, like a pack of wild dogs who had cornered a larger animal. Attacking viciously, their superior numbers seemed to grant them an advantage at first; but soon, the outcome began to swing clearly in the opposite direction. Seyeon's scythe danced through the ranks of her foes with an almost gruesome elegance, while Samehada's bite ripped and tore apart those ninja unfortunate enough to find themselves in close proximity to Kisame. Within minutes, this second, more violent sortie had ended.

Chira gazed down on them, his eyes gleaming. Seyeon's face was awash with blood, her forehead sliced open horizontally, her breathing becoming slow and sharp. "And yet" Chira murmured, almost to himself, "You show no sign of releasing. The fear of death is no longer as reliable a trigger as it once was, it seems."

At those words, Kisame gripped Samehada tighter, his blood boiling with rage at this arrogant ninja, who had imprisoned and tortured a young Seyeon so long ago.

_Never again. Never._

Seyeon simply turned her head to face his direction, her face impassive. Then, to Kisame's surprise, she undid her scratched Mist headband, letting it fall to the ground. "The possibility of death no longer holds any power over me, Chira. I've accepted the likelihood." she half smiled. All around her, the reaction was immediate; some of the Mist ninja that remained alive recoiled in disgust, while others shielded their eyes or turned away entirely. A few looked uncertainly at Chira.

A twisted smile spread across his face. "You act as though you're afraid I'd forgotten."

Seyeon did not return his smile; her face was expressionless. "Never."

Kisame stood his ground, his teeth gnashing against each other; all of this talk was going on far too long for his liking. "Chira!" he roared, taking one warning step toward him. "I don't know who you are, or why you do what you do; but I tell you now, you will never touch Seyeon again. He hefted Samehada and bared his teeth, and the rage emanating from him was so great that even Seyeon recoiled slightly. However, Chira stood unmoved.

"Oh, poor, stupid Kisame." he laughed, the sound falling on Kisame's ears like molten metal striking bare flesh. "You actually think me so easily intimidated? The leader of your organization thought the same when we did battle; it's almost criminal, how easily one can cause their foe to drop their guard, just with a simple adjustment to your manner of speaking."

Kisame dropped Samehada, no longer able to hear Seyeon's exclamation of concern over the ringing in his ears. To be hewn limb from limb by the sword seemed to clean a death, suddenly; he wanted nothing more than to tear the man limb from limb with his own hands. He growled like a beast, stetching his legs and preparing to spring at Chira.

"Kisame, stop!" Seyeon half cried, half pleaded; but her plea fell on deaf ears. Chira, however, heard her cry, and regarded Kisame with renewed interest.

"So, you fear not your _own _death, Seyeon…?"

Seyeon's eyeless sockets widened at his words. Even as she tried to make a move, Chira motioned with his left hand. "Do it."

The air in front of Kisame flickered, just slightly, and a young man appeared directly in front of the shark ninja. His face was masked in rolls of white cloth, but his long white hair was fluttering behind him, propelled by the speed at which he'd approached Kisame. Before the Akatsuki ninja could do anything but blink slowly, his blood rage temporarily dulled by surprise, the young man had placed his pale hand on Kisame's chest. For a split second, all was silent.

Then Kisame screamed.

A terrifying sound, as though the very air in the clearing had been torn asunder, split the air. The sound sliced through Seyeon's ears like a blade, and she sprang forward, struggling to comprehend what could have possibly caused her beloved to make such a sound, when she had never once hear him cry out for any reason before that.

Kisame fell to the ground, gasping, his arms flailing uselessly as he clawed at his chest; his entire torso had been split down the center and yawned open like a cavern, spurting blood across the field. His exposed ribs exposed ribs were pointing out of his mangled flesh toward the sky, broken and bent from their natural place of rest as though and explosion had taken place inside his chest cavity.

Seyeon fell to the ground beside him, her probing hands frantically attempting to assess the damage. When she felt the extent of Kisame's injuries, her blood ran cold, and she sat beside him for a second, paralyzed in shock. Then, a soft, mocking laugh cut through the haze she that had grown about her brain.

Chira was laughing. The sound was like nothing Seyeon had ever heard before; to her grief-skewed perception, it was louder than the pounding of great drums, and it bored into her head like a long nail driven deep into a plank of wood by a single mighty hammer-thrust.

"Asi" Chira addressed the young man standing before Kisame's crumpled body. "Please collect our curse mark."

Asi nodded, and moved to take a step toward Seyeon. Suddenly, almost too fast to see, a massive, clawed hand encased his head. Seyeon's right arm had swelled monstrously, her blue skin turning rough and brown. Almost casually, she clenched her fist, crushing the young ninja's head like an overfull water balloon. Blood sprayed in all directions, but Seyeon seemed not to heed it. Her body began growing, becoming misshapen, her legs locking together into one solid tail, a shell of dull grey forming atop her elongating head.

Finally, where Seyeon had previously stood rested a great beast, its front toes tipped with wicked black claws, boasting a serpentine body that ended in a similar black blade. She roared, displaying her mouth of wickedly long teeth. In one motion, she scattered the remnants of the Mist force to the wind, raining death down upon them in the form of great black claws, massive, crushing limbs, and spikes of strange, black-tinted water. None were spared from the onslaught.

At the sight of Seyeon's transformation, a look of excitement crossed Chira's face, giving him an almost greedy appearance. "There!" he cried, not even heeding the screams and groans of his men dying all around him.

_Rat Monkey Horse Dragon Rat Tiger_

Chira's hands flew as he formed a string of hand signs, then extended his arms. His left hand was gripping his right wrist, his right palm extended. On the palm of his hand was etched a single Kanji, burning as though his flesh was aflame: 嵐, "storm".

A long tendril of brilliant violet energy burst from his hand, even as Seyeon's massive bulk bore down on him, murder coursing through every fibre of her body. Chira's lance of chakra made contact with her flash just as her jaws closed around him.

Seyeon froze, dropping Chira's body like a ragdoll as her jaw fell open. Dropping to the ground, she howled in anguish, clawing at the top of her domed head as she swung it from side to side. The band of violet connecting the two figures began slowly turning from its purple colour to a shade of dull brown, matching Seyeon's bestial skin. Seyeon's body began to shrink down, receding to her human state, the influence of the curse mark being syphoned out of her by Chira's Sealing jutsu. Finally, the chakra thread disconnected with a small "snip", and Seyeon fell motionless to the ground, her naked body coming to a rest amidst the blood-soaked grass and piles of bodies. Chira sank to his knees, his mouth slightly open, blood beginning to pool at its corners. For a moment, no sound was heard.

The, Seyeon stirred. With a grunt, she hoisted herself up on one arm, then two. As though the effort was monumental, she dragged herself toward Kisame's body, sweat pouring down her lacerated forehead. Holding a shaking hand before his lips, she braced herself for the worst. Then, a slight shock: the barest ghost of a breath touched her palm and passed between her fingers. He was alive!

Her palm….

Seyeon placed her fingers onto her palm, feeling with wonder. The small matrix of broken lines and swirls that had adorned her skin for so long was no longer present. The curse mark was gone.

Chira had fallen to lay on his back, panting. He rotated his head to the side, wincing at the pain, and his glazed eyes found Seyeon. He struggled to focus his vision, then closed his eyes as he sighed.

"Not even that was enough to end your life? The removal of a curse mark you bore for so long should have killed you beyond any doubt… You have my congratulations, Marisha- or Seyeon, is it?" Suddenly, Chira's face looked old, and very, very tired.

"Well, in that case, I suppose it's time I tell you my last secret."

"You remember that day, so long ago, when my forces and I acquired you for the Mist's experiments? Of course you do. Or rather, you remember your perception of that day. Tell me, what happened?"

Seyeon reached over and grabbed her tattered Akatsuki cloak, which had been thrown off her as her transformation began, and attempted to cover herself. "Don't play games with me. You killed my parents, bombed my house, made my dead parents look like they were coming after me, and I clawed my own eyes out at the sight. After that, I couldn't tell you.

Chira smiled. "My dear Seyeon. You see, your account is correct, up until the bombing of your home. But once we reach there, the story becomes a bit muddled."

"It's true that you were placed under Genjutsu, yes, but it didn't only convince you your parents had returned from death. In fact, it falsely convinced you that you had been the one who removed your own eyes."

Seyeon started. "What do you mean? I did take them out."

Chira shook his head. "No Seyeon, you didn't. I did."

The blue-skinned girl bent her neck, trying to take everything in. "No. But… Why? I don't understand."

Chira looked at her appraisingly. "Seyeon, you most likely don't know it- neither would your sister, your parents, or likely anyone in your family at all- but your bloodline is special. Within it is contained a certain ocular jutsu, one that only manifests very rarely. Even in the special cases where it does manifest, it takes almost unbelievable trauma and terror to awaken it. You were one such case.

Seyeon froze, reaching up to feel her face; for the first time, she was acutely aware of the emptiness of her eye sockets. "You're lying."

"Come now, do you really think your family was selected by mere chance?" Chira coughed a few times, blood seeping out of his mouth. "Believe me if you wish. But your eyes were special; they could form a special space between them, which allowed matter to be transported from one eye of such type to another."

"Two Shinobi with these eyes could pass matter from one to the other, instantaneously, with minimal energy required. Now, as I said, this jutsu manifests very rarely, making its usefulness questionable… when both eyes of the subject are confined to one head, that is."

A chill ran down Seyeon's spine as she finally understood. "So you took my eyes… and put them…?"

Chira sighed once more. "One of your eyes is in the Hidden Mist Village, in the heart of the city; specifically, a secret room built to house it. The other…."

The Mist ninja lifted a hand to his face and gripped the black piece of metal that covered his right eye, then removed it. "The other is here."

With his last bit of strength, Chira turned his head back to face upward, and revealed an eye as black as a sphere of coal, with no iris, pupil, or white to be seen. The eye began to glow, darkness spilling out, shapeless for a few seconds before it began forming into a large gate.

Finally, Chira breathed his last:

"Die now."

And even as the life left his body, Mist ninja beyond count poured from the gateway, all flying toward Seyeon. Exhausted, with nothing left in her to give, she bowed her head, gripping Kisame's bloody head to her chest tightly. At least they would die together.

Suddenly, the ground shook. All around Seyeon, the surface of the earth rippled, and a horde of forms emerged. Started at the new arrivals, Seyeon attempted to focus enough chakra on one to ascertain its identity; however, she was saved the trouble by a familiar voice.

"Seyeon?" **"Kisame?"**

Seyeon swung around toward the voice. "Zetsu!"

"Yes, it's me." **"We have to go. My clones won't be able to hold them off for more than a few more seconds."**

However, even as he spoke, Zetsu glanced up and saw one of the Mist ninja break through the wall of bodies, and shoot toward the trio brandishing a pair of katana. Grimacing, he reached a hand toward Seyeon and Kisame, already knowing he'd be too slow-

_Clang._

Zetsu looked back up, startled. Seyeon had risen to her feet, her scythe gripped in her shaking hands, blocking the Mist ninja's thrust. With a single sweep, she cleaved his head from his shoulders, then settled into a defensive stance; however, it was obvious to Zetsu that she was dangerously weak. She could barely stand, let alone fight. When she spoke, though, her voice was clear and strong.

"Take Kisame and go. Get out of here. Now."

Zetsu looked at her with amazement. "Are you kidding? You won't last a-" but even as White Zetsu spoke, Black Zetsu understood. Seyeon had no intentions of lasting long enough to return to the Akatsuki tower.

He reached down, grabbed Kisame's arm, and looked back at her. **"I'll be back."**

Without another word, the heterochromatic ninja sunk back into the ground, Kisame in tow. As he went, Kisame began to awake, just in time to see Zetsu bearing him away, and Seyeon facing down a seemingly endless horde of ninja alone.

"Seyeon… No! NO!"

Seyeon turned to face her lover. "I love you, Kisame. Forgive me, someday."

And without another word, Kisame was gone.

Seyeon turned to face the group of ninja, bracing herself as they drew nearer and nearer. Finally, they reached her, and the foremost one swiped at her with his blade. Ducking beneath the swing, she sliced open his chest with her scythe, tagging two more opponents with the backswing. The assault faltered, just slightly, as the ninja realized their opponent wasn't quite so helpless as they thought.

Seyeon simply smiled advanced, slicing through the ranks of the ninja like paper. Then, a flash to her side caught her eye. A long knife, held in the grip of a Mist ninja, shot toward her, and she moved her scythe to block; but even as she did, she knew she wouldn't be fast enough.

_Shunk._

* * *

**Reviews: Appreciated, as usual.**


	13. Before Her Eyes

**Obligatory disclaimer.**

* * *

"_Marisha, come inside!"_

_A young girl, her skin tinged a pale blue, turned toward the sound of the call. "I'm coming, mom! Just a minute!"_

_Walking back toward a small white house, she met another girl slightly older than her, her blonde hair flowing in the breeze. "Come on, sis, it's time for supper!"_

_The girl smiled "Alright, Val!"_

* * *

"_Mum…. I head something weird…."_

_The blue-skinned girl padded softly across the room to the front door, opening it and stepping outside. She looked across the yard and saw her father standing there, motionless. Walking toward him, she called out uncertainly: "Dad…?"_

_Without warning, he turned and waved his hand back toward the house; just as he did so, a mass of blac figured popped into view. "Marisha! Run! Back to the house!"_

"_What… but… dad, what's happening?"_

"_Go! NOW!"_

_The girl ran back toward her home, but it was too late; seconds later, a huge blast rocked the house, demolishing it. The girl was throw backward by the blast, landing with a thud on the ground. Standing up, she swung around, panic setting into her bright blue eyes._

_All around her, shrouded black figures were advancing on the house. One in particular, more built than the others, seemed to be leading them, and strode purposely toward her._

"_Stop… get away! GET AWAY!" She screamed. The figure paid no attention, and raised a hand. _

Art of Illusion: Nightmare Memory jutsu!

_The girl started, her tear-filled eyes widening then, without warning, she fell forward to the ground. The man contemplated her for a handful of heartbeats, then motioned._

"_Collect her."_

* * *

_A blue-skinned teen was seated on a dank, stone floor, chains connecting her raw ankles to a ring attached to the wall. Her hands were placed over her eyes, and she shook slightly; but no tears could be seen, as though she had exhausted all that she had to give. Before her on the ground was a pair of Mist ninja, their bodies horribly mangled, bones crushed and flesh torn off in pieces._

"_Well, that's two more gone. Increase her restraints until the next test, and please remove the bodies."_

* * *

"_Aww, is Itachi mad because his special eyes won't help him now?"_

_Seyeon stood in a clearing in the woods, wrapped in a dirty brown robe. Itachi and Kisame of the Akatsuki stood before her, and murderous rage was pouring from the Uchiha in waves. A sudden shock of pain stabbed through her chest, and she collapsed, Itachi's kunai piercing her back._

* * *

_"Use it- before- can't-control- AHHHHHH!"_

_Seyeon felt her flesh begin to writhe and shift, like liquid boiling in a pot. Pain lanced through her as the change began to take effect, and she slammed her fists against the wooden floor. Hopefully the others would be able to stop her…._

_And with that, her last vestiges of human thought vanished, replaced by nothing but the bestial urge to kill._

* * *

"_Seyeon… there's someone here to see you."_

_Seyeon's emotions ran the entire course from incredulous to angry, and back again, as she felt the face of this woman, claiming to be Valhalla. If this was her sister, she'd somehow stayed alive throughout all these years, without her ever knowing._

_And if this wasn't her sister… then someone was going to suffer for performing such a gambit on her._

_"I don't know who you are or why you're pretending to be my sister, but I do know one thing- you will pay for mocking their sacrifice!"_

_Seyeon grabbed the girl's throat, fully intent on choking the life from this imposter. No one would mock her family, and their death's, in her presence._

_She vaguely felt the other woman's hands trying desperately to loose her grip, but she was far too strong, and life began slowly ebbing from her._

_Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled from the girl, her hands clutching at the empty air. Rage burned in her heart, as she shouted out at whoever had stopped her from her revenge._

"_Marisha…. please…."_

_Seyeon stopped dead. Another whirlwind of emotion swirled inside her, but every feeling she felt this time was some permutation on deep, piercing shock._

"_Val…. I'm so sorry…."_

* * *

"_Itachi! ITACHI!"_

_Itachi turned to face the blue-skinned kunoichi, his face a mixture of disinterest and veiled contempt. "If you have something important to say, say it. Otherwise, I have more important things to spend my time perusing."_

_Seyeon planted herself firmly in front of the Uchiha. "You don't like me, I'm aware of that. But Kisame respects you, very much, and... I don't want to live under the shadow of your hatred forever." She sighed. "To start, I want to know why you hate me."_

_Itachi studied her for a moment, his gaze unblinking. Then, he turned. "Walk with me."_

_Seyeon started slightly, then fell into step beside the Uchiha. Waling in silence for a few steps, he began: "To answer your question, I don't entirely hate you; I see a fair amount of potential in you. However, a combination of your overconfidence in your own abilities and your pretentious arrogance is stopping you from ever achieving that potential, and I hate to see potential waste: hence, your misjudged assumption that I hate you."_

_Seyeon considered his words for a good deal of time. Finally, as Itachi was preparing to end the conversation and leave the hallway, her hand snaked over to grab his arm. He glared at her, one eyebrow raised dangerously._

"_You want me to live up to my potential? Teach me. Make me better."_

_Itachi raised his eyebrows again, this time in mild surprise. The slightest ghost of a smile passed his lips. "You don't only want to clear the air between us. There's another motive behind this, isn't there?"_

_Kisame bowed her head, a purplish blush tinting her blue skin. "…I know Kisame respects those who can hold their own in battle."_

_Itachi nodded. "I thought so."_

_Without warning, he turned and began walking away. Just as Seyeon made to chastise him for leaving without a response, he said over his shoulder: _

"_Outside, in the courtyard. Tonight, at dusk."_

* * *

"_HIDAN! I AM GOING TO TEAR YOUR TESTICLES OFF OF YOUR BODY AND RAM THEM INTO YOUR EARS!"_

* * *

"_Again."_

_Seyeon jumped at Itachi, brandishing her scythe. Swinging wildly, she tried to find a weak spot in his defences, but it was useless; everywhere her blows fell, he seemed to have a kunai primed and ready to deflect the attack._

_Falling backward, she placed her hands on her knees, panting heavily._

"_Again."_

_Straightening up, she growled. "I've been doing this for weeks, for hours on end. I'm exhausted, I can't keep-" Without warning, Itachi swept forward and stabbed at her with his extended blade. Just barely, Seyeon blocked the strike, knocking the kunai out of his hand._

_Itachi swung around, another kunai ready in his hand. "Your true foes will not allow you rest, nor wait until the battle fits your convenience." Swinging relentlessly, Itachi forced Seyeon into the corner of the courtyard, then stabbed directly for her chest._

_Seyeon seemed to flicker, then she was gone. Itachi started, and made to turn, but before he had even moved a muscle he felt the cold caress of steel against the back of his neck._

" '_Never assume you have the upper hand.' " _

_Seyeon stood behind Itachi, her scythe resting just against his flesh. Itachi smiled._

"_Well, it appears you win this round. You've done what you set out to do, young one."_

_Seyeon smiled as her scythe disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Thank you, Sensei." Seyeon extended her hand to Itachi, not expecting any response._

_To her surprise, he clasped it._

* * *

_Kisame was lying on the floor of their tent, Seyeon on top of him, straddling his waist. Painting heavily, she slowly heaved up and down, hands tightly gripping his broad shoulders._

_Faster and faster they moved, as on, until finally she cried out._

"_Aaaggghhhh!"_

_Seyeon collapsed onto Kisame's chest and laid there, feeling the comforting presence of his heartbeat against her cheek._

"_Seyeon?"_

_Turning her face toward his voice, Seyeon smiled. "Yes, love?"_

_Kisame placed one hand on her back, the other hand lazily stroking its fingers through her hair. "I love you."_

_Seyeon softly kissed Kisame's bare chest. "I love you too." And with that, she settled down and fell asleep._

* * *

_Looking over at Zetsu as he half carried, half dragged Kisame's bulking body, Seyeon saw his body stir. Kisame's eyes fluttered open, just in time to see Seyeon turn to the horde of Mist ninja approaching. A single, weak cry of "Seyeon… No! NO!" split the air, ringing in her head, despite the low volume of the voice. Then, he was gone._

_Seyeon sighed, her body relaxing._

I'm sorry, my love. Your life is worth more than mine, and I gladly give mine so that yours may continue.

_Swinging her scythe, Seyeon waded into battle against the Mist ninja, felling many. Finally, one came too close, and buried his sword into her torso._

_Her memories became more scattered, images flickering through her head. Finally, the images dissolved into colours, then one solid shade of grey-_

_Then she knew no more._

* * *

**That was a weird one. Just some memory stuff.**

**Review, if you please.**


	14. Broken

**Disclaimer: Ownership of Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me.**

**Also, authour's note inbound at the end of this chapter.**

* * *

Blackness.

A stifling dark surrounded Kisame, obscuring his surroundings. He became idly aware that he wasn't able to see his own body beneath him, nor was he able to reach up and touch his face with his hands- for all his knowledge, he may have become nothing but a brain and a pair of eyeballs, floating in an endless sea of ink.

_Am I dead? Is this what death is like?_

He contemplated the question with childlike curiousity; the prospect that he had, in fact, perished, struck no fear in his heart. He floated alone in his thoughts for a few moments, a few months, a few years, or longer. Time seemed skewed, and his perception of it no longer existed or mattered. Suddenly, a voice reached him through the dimness.

"Kisame?"

His idle thoughts paused, focusing on the change in atmosphere, and for a brief second his mind was tinged with confusion. He knew that voice, didn't he?

"Kisame?"

Struggling, he attempted to turn his head; or, at least, what passed for turning his head in the limbo he found himself suspended in. His reflexes were slow, his unseen body almost immobile, and after a few seconds he was forced to admit defeat.

Without warning, the darkness in front of him turned from pitch black to steel grey, then faded to the colour of pale stones. Light had begun breaking through his bleak surroundings, and he was able to see that he did, in fact, have a body; it was pale and thin-looking, and still largely unresponsive compared to the relatively unchanged speed of his mind functions. He was unclothed, and floating in a vast empty space.

Finally, the light grew enough to bathe the area in soft yellow radiance. A figure stepped around Kisame from behind him, then came to a stop before his inert body. His blurred eyes wavered, then focused on the figure, recognition flooding him.

Seyeon stood before him, wrapped in nothing but a long, black length of some soft, silky cloth. Her face was adorned with a warm smile, possibly the most peaceful expression Kisame had ever seen appear on her face. However, as he looked closer, he realized that there was nothing covering her eyeless sockets; however, the upper half of her face was shrouded in shadow, hiding them.

She stepped forward. "Oh, thank goodness, you're alright." Drawing him close, she pulled him into an embrace, and Kisame felt his body flood with energy. His movement restored, he gripped her tightly back, memories flooding his brain of what had just happened: Chira, the young man, his attack, Seyeon sending him away…

He looked at Seyeon, the faintest traces of tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes. "Why would you send me away? I should have stayed with you."

Seyeon didn't respond, however. Her face twisted into a frown, and she grabbed Kisame by the shoulders.

"Kisame, wake up. Kisame! KISAME!" Her voice began changing, growing raspier, and more male.

"**Kisame!"**

* * *

Kisame awoke with a start. Jerking upward, he immediately winced in pain, the memory of Seyeon still fresh in his mind. Looking wildly around, he registered that he was seated on a bed of reeds in a small, thatched-roofed cottage; his chest was heavily bandaged, and Zetsu was on the ground beside him.

"**Oh, you're awake." **"I think you were hallucinating, you were rambling and not making a whole lot of sense."

Kisame placed a hand on his bandaged torso. "Where are we?"

Zetsu looked at him, furrowing his brow in confusion. "We're in an abandoned hut, about two miles from where you and Seyeon were attacked." **"We figured that this distance was enough to- hey!"**

Kisame stood abruptly, fighting to ignore the lance of pain that shot across his body. Grabbing Samehada with his right hand, he threw his Akatsuki cloak about him carelessly. "I'm going back to get her."

White Zetsu looked at him with concern. "Kisame… you're injured, badly. I've patched you up with my spores as best I can, but they're a temporary fix at best. You should return to Leader-sama for rejuvenation."

Kisame glanced at him, and was about to open his mouth to argue, when Black Zetsu cut him off. **"Go, Kisame. Get her back."**

Kisame bowed his head. "Thank you, Zetsu. Report what happened here to the others, I'll be back to Ame with Seyeon as soon as I can."

Without another word, Zetsu sank into the dirt floor of the hut, and Kisame left the dilapidated structure without another word.

* * *

Slowly but surely, Kisame made his way to the location of his and Seyeon's standoff. Blood seeped from under his bandage, and he grimaced, forcing himself to carry on through the occasional spasm of pain that shot through his abdomen. His movement speed was decreased sharply by the extent of his injuries, but he kept a pace regardless, driven by concern for Seyeon's fate.

Finally, he reached the clearing. The sight that met his eyes shocked him: the ground was cracked and broken, with entire sections of the turf ripped from the earth and thrown across the area, smashing against trees and uprooting small shrubs and bushes. The ground was littered with bodies in various states of dismemberment, most unrecognizable, as though they'd been mauled by some gigantic predator. Glancing over, he saw Chira lying against a slab of earth, his right eye uncovered, a black orb revealed in the socket. The massive wound in his chest left Kisame no illusions that he'd need to be dealt with; his demise had clearly come about in a very painful manner.

Swiveling around, Kisame frantically surveyed the area, looking underneath bodies and throwing pieces of the environment itself about, searching for Seyeon. Suddenly, a clattering behind him caught his ears, and he spun around, one hand shooting to Samehada's handle; however, the suddenness of the action caused a bolt of agony to course through his body, dropping him to one knee, his face contorted with pain.

Before him, a lone Mist ninja was running toward him. His single remaining arm was gripping a kunai, his mangled face twisted into a completely unreadable expression. Kisame's hand let go of Samehada, and he grabbed vainly for it as he fell, but his wild reach missed; bracing himself, he looked the ninja dead in the eyes. If this was to be his death, he would face it head-on.

_Shlack!_

Kisame blinked. The Mist ninja stopped his suicidal charge and looked down at the long silver blade that was now protruding from his heaving chest. Catching Kisame's eye, the ninja coughed once, his breath sputtered, and he fell forward without another word.

Behind him, Seyeon was kneeling on the ground, one arm holding her scythe in a shaky grip. Even as Kisame exclaimed in surprise and started forward, the blue-skinned kunoichi fell forward, her massive blade disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Kisame caught Seyeon as she fell, placing a hand on her cheek and turning her face toward his. Her lips fluttered, and she struggled to speak.

"No, don't try to talk." He whispered, tears trickling down his face. "Save your strength, I'm taking you home. Seyeon, please… Please don't…" his voice trailed off.

Seyeon smiled, but the look quickly dissolved into a gasp of pain. "I'm sorry… Kisame. I didn't want you to have to see this."

"I've done what I meant to do. I've made peace with my sister, I've finished off the last remnant of my past. I know the truth, and that's all I've wanted. You… you've got so much more to do." She coughed, blood pooling at the corners of her mouth. "Please… just, do one thing… for me…"

Kisame held her head close to his chest. "Don't say that. You won't need me to do anything, I'm taking you home. You're going to be fine!" he half shouted, half cried, as though trying as hard to convince himself as to convince her.

Seyeon shook her head. "Kisame… take care of Val."

Finally, Kisame let go. Tears poured down his cheeks as he let them flow unrestrained. Holding onto Seyeon as the life drained from her body, he cried like he had never cried in his life.

"Why did you have to do this? We should have both gone." He clenched his fist. "I never wanted this. I never wanted any of this."

Seyeon inhaled deeply, her breath turning wheezy and laboured. "It's okay. I'm going to see my parents."

"I love you, Kisame."

Seyeon's head slumped to the side, a ghost of breath passed through her lips, and she lived no more. For a moment Kisame simply sat there, cradling his dead lover in his arms. Nothing mattered anymore; Seyeon was dead. He had promised that nothing would ever happen to her again, and he'd failed to hold up that promise.

Reaching into his belt, he removed a kunai. A single tear dropped onto the polished black metal as he moved it into position in front of his chest. The tip settled just against his flesh-

"_Kisame….Take care of Val."_

He stopped. The last ghost of Seyeon's voice fluttered away in the breeze. Kisame let his fingers slowly open, and the kunai fell from his hands to stab into the loamy ground. Then, setting his mind, he stood, Seyeon's bloodied body held in his arms.

Looking down at her small form- so tough in life, yet so frail in death- Kisame took a deep breath. He stood there, alive, because Seyeon was dead. He wouldn't squander her sacrifice.

Without another thought, he left the clearing.

* * *

_One week later… _

In the courtyard of Pain's tower, the Akatsuki had assembled. Before them, Seyeon's body was laid out on a stone table, her hands clasped on her stomach, her eyelids closed over her empty sockets. In any other situation, she might have been sleeping peacefully.

Deidara, Tobi, and Hidan stood, slightly removed from the proceedings, their heads bowed. Pain and Jonan were slightly nearer, Itachi at their side; and directly before the stone stood Kisame, Valhalla, and Kakuzu. Kakuzu's hand was placed on the small of Valhalla's back as she sobbed uncontrollably. Tears ran unheeded down her face, dripping to the ground, as Kakuzu bowed his head. Kisame's eyes, however, were dry.

He placed one of Seyeon's hands in his own and held it for a few seconds, grasping her cool flesh tightly. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see that Itachi had stepped forward. "Are you ready?"

Kisame took a deep breath and nodded, glancing over at Valhalla. Her tears had subsided, leaving two tracks down her face, but her expression was set as she nodded her agreement. She and Kakuzu stepped back from Seyeon's body, Kisame following, as the other members of the Akatsuki stepped closer to level with their fellows.

Itachi formed three hand signs, then extended his right hand, his first two fingers pointed upward.

_Fire style: Fireball jutsu!_

Exhaling deeply, he blew a cloud of bright flames onto Seyeon's body. The surface of the stone burst into flames, burning quickly to cover the whole table. Valhalla buried her face in Kakuzu's shoulder, unable to rest her eyes on the sight.

Smoke rose from the fire, flitting away into the blue sky of one of the rare clear days in the Hidden Rain Village. Kisame looked upward, imagining that he saw Seyeon's face in the rising smoke, hearing her laugh as she rose to greet her parents. The flames continued to burn, and the wind carried the wisps of smoke out over the village as the fire burned, and with a final burst, Seyeon's body was engulfed in flames.

* * *

**Alright, I feel like I owe some explanation here.**

**I know it probably seems odd to create an entirely new character, then kill them off at the end of the very same story that you introduce them in. But, the truth of the matter is, Seyeon is a character that I developed almost four years ago. I want my writing style to stay evolving, and Seyeon doesn't interest me as much as a character anymore.**

**Now, that's not to say that she won't reappear at some point in the future… I think her design was solid enough to warrant a possible revisit. But, I've made my decision, and my decision is to continue without her.**

**Now that that's done, I'd like to thank everyone who's stuck through this story to the end, even through my (admittedly numerous) periods of almost no posts whatsoever. I do this, first and foremost, to express creativity, but knowing that there are people out there who enjoy it makes it all the better.**

**Thank you, and I'll see you all in the next story.**


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